Paper Mario: The Star Spirits
by Sandrock91
Summary: Chapter 7's up! This is probably the best one yet, but that's for you guys to judge. Read and find out!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: The Unexpected Visit**

It all started one beautiful morning, just like any other. Luigi was outside his house, staring blankly into the bright blue sky, where the sun was shining brilliantly, but Luigi wasn't looking at the sun (bad for the eyes, after all). He was looking at the thing flying crookedly through the air. It was Parakarry the new post…Koopa. He flew over the house a few times and landed with a thud next to Luigi. "Still having trouble flying around, I see," said Luigi. He knew Parakarry was new and that, although he'd finally mastered flying, it was tough to fly around fast enough and lug his heavy brown mailbag at the same time.

"I'll get used to it," said Parakarry. "I just hope I can break these wings in before I start losing some of these letters. Speaking of which, I have one for Mario. Could you give it to him?" He handed the letter to Luigi, readied his wings, and took off, dragging his legs on the way up.

Luigi smiled as he read the return address of the letter, and he skipped into the house to tell Mario about it. "Mario!" he shouted. "We've got mail."

Mario ran into the kitchen and took the letter from Luigi. "It looks like a letter from Princess Peach," Luigi said. Mario opened it. The letter held a piece of parchment with a message scrawled on the front, which read:

Dear Mario and Luigi,

I'm throwing a party at my castle. I would be very happy if you'd both come. There will be people from all over the world. It will be the time of your life!

Yours truly,

Princess Peach.

Mario was delighted. Despite the past experiences with Peach's castle, it was still nice to take a visit to such a majestic place. He and Luigi walked out of the house and toward the back yard. There was a line of warp pipes leading to specific places from Mario's past experiences. Mario and Luigi jumped toward the one labeled "Princess Peach's castle", but they missed and landed in the pipe that was labeled "2 feet in front of Mario's house". The pipe next to it spat them out and back onto the lawn.

Looking around, Mario shouted, "Dang! Why do we even have that pipe?" So, they jumped into the right pipe this time. As expected, they appeared in front of the castle. Although they had visited the castle more than once, they couldn't help but gaze at the wonderful building. The walls were white as snow, and the towers reached up to the sky; they almost seemed to touch the clouds. Even the scenery was nice, with two gleaming fountains and a garden surrounding the castle as far as the eye could see. After looking at this magnificent place for a few minutes, they walked into the castle together.

"I never get used to this place!" exclaimed Luigi. "You look at the outside and can't imagine anything that could be more beautiful, and then you look at the inside and… WHAMMO!" At this, he snapped his fingers to add enthusiasm, quite pointlessly compared to the loud shout, which attracted more attention than Mario would have preferred. "It adds the fun to any party, and so many guests have already come!" Luigi was right. Dozens of guests filled the room. The party must have been well known; the castle was packed with guests from many different regions. There were Koopas and Toads wearing all sorts of strange and unfamiliar clothing. Talking to a few of the guests, Mario even came across Mayor Penguin of Shiver City, who unsurprisingly was a penguin.

"Yes, I'm Mayor Penguin," he said. "I've come here from the north to see the wonderful tourist attraction. You must be Mario, yes?"

"It's-a me."

"Well, isn't that swell? Something tells me we'll be meeting again soon, probably in the midst of some dire situation." Mayor Penguin laughed, apparently taking this as a joke. "Well, at any rate, you should probably see the princess, eh? I hear she's been waiting for you."

So, Mario bid goodbye to the mayor and skipped on up to the top floor, which took a little while since the castle was so big. He finally came into a hallway with many large windows by the wall. The sight was magnificent, but Mario wasn't paying much attention because of how tired he was from climbing up. He looked up and saw Peach on the other side of the hallway, wearing her usual pink dress and blue brooch.

She walked up to Mario and said, "Mario, I'm glad you came. I'm just resting up here a bit. It's been tiring greeting all those guests."

"Yes…I…can imagine," said Mario, panting from the long trek up the stairs. "But not as tiring as having to come all the way up here. You should get an elevator for this castle."

"Um, what's an elevator?" But, before he could answer, they heard a low rumbling sound. The ground beneath them started shaking. The whole place was rising! Downstairs, everyone was panicking and running for their lives out of the castle. Some of them fell to their doom, not noticing that the castle had already risen a hundred feet in the air.

Once the castle stopped, everybody (who wasn't already dead at least) started to settle down, but the fear in them did not cease.

Near the top of the castle, Mario and Peach were also wondering what had just happened. "Mario! Are you okay?" Peach asked. Mario was fine, but as he and Peach looked out the window, they realized that the sky wasn't fine at all. Everything was pitch black, except for a few small specks of light, which Peach immediately recognized as—

"Stars?" She rubbed her eyes, trying to make sure she was seeing things right. "What are stars doing out during the daytime?"

Then, there was a loud, shattering noise. Pieces of glass started to rain down on top of Peach. Mario quickly grabbed her, pushing her out of harm's way. From the gaping hole in the window, a weird old Koopa flew inside, riding a crooked broomstick. She leaped from her vessel and landed silently onto the floor. She was wearing a purple cloak and had a wand in her hand. Her face was wrinkled of age, and her beady eyes burned with an unquenchable thirst for… Well, you get the point. She was ugly. Oh, and Bowser was there too.

"Bowser!" shouted Peach. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you _think_ I'm here for?" said Bowser. "I came for you, Princess."

"Wait, you mean the shaking was…?"

"That's right! That was me, too. I put my castle on top of yours. Weren't expecting that, huh? Now you'll all be my prisoners!" Bowser walked up to Peach to grab her, but Mario stood in his way.

"What!? Mario! What a shock! …What am I saying? It's not a surprise at all! I expected you to come, right on cue. You're still as annoying as ever!" Bowser snorted in aggravation.

"Bowser," said Peach. "You don't know what you're getting into. Mario's defeated you every time you've come here. Haven't you learned your lesson yet?"

"Hey!" said the weird-looking Koopa in a crackled voice. "What about me? You've never mentioned me once, and I hate being ignored!"

"Did you hear something?" said Mario.

"Hm," said Bowser. "Must be the wind. I did destroy that window."

"You had better pay for that!" Peach scolded.

"Don't fret, it'll be the least of your worries soon enough."

"Hey!" said that Koopa again. "You're still ignoring me! I'm over here! LOOK AT ME!"

"Well, I hope you fix it soon," said Peach. "The wind seems almost eerie around here, as if it's… talking."

"Right. Fine, I'll get it fixed as soon as possible. Now, where was I? Oh yeah! Yes, yes. I have had my problems in the past, but this time it's different! This time I'll win!" He glared at Mario with his monstrous eyes. "So, come on, Mario. Come and get me!"

Mario jumped on Bowser (he's a pretty high jumper for a fat plumber), but Bowser just knocked him to the side. "Is that the best you've got?" he taunted. Mario went behind him and grabbed his tail, remembering the last time he fought him. He could swing him around fast enough to send him flying out the window. That would get rid of him. "Not so fast, pretty boy," Bowser said before Mario could swing him. He took out a strange star-shaped rod from his hand. Mario stopped in confusion. "Take a good look at this."

"What is it?" asked Mario.

"This little work of art is what I'd like to call the Star Rod!" said Bowser. "It's a priceless little possession of Star Haven, capable of powers beyond all knowledge or imagination of humans and Koopas alike. Nothing can limit its supernatural abilities!"

"Great… So, what is it?"

Bowser grunted in annoyance. "It's a stick with a star on it that can grant any wish that comes to my mind. Happy?"

"Anything?" said Mario doubtfully.

"Well, almost. I can't wish for love, death, or bringing people back from the dead, the usual stuff."

Peach smirked and asked, "So you can fix my window?"

"Nah, for some reason it has no effect on glass. Now, as I was saying, I'll use it to finally make my dreams come true, starting with you Mario." He raised the rod, and it seemed to show off an eerie glow. The star got brighter and brighter until the whole room was flooded with light. Soon, the light died down, dazing everybody in the room, but nothing seemed to happen.

"Nice light show," said Mario, unconvinced. He strained to swing Bowser out the window again.

"Oh," said Bowser sarcastically. "You want to swing? All right then." He retreated into his shell and spun around in a complete circle, taking Mario with him. Unable to keep his grip, Mario flew into the wall. Bowser laughed. "That felt great! I've always wanted to do that! Looks like that little trick isn't going to work anymore, Mario."

Mario stood up, shaking off the pain. "Well stop this, Bowser!" he said, running full force at Bowser. He jumped up and threw a punch in the face. Bowser, quick as lightning, grabbed his fist and threw him to the other side of the room. Mario stood up, dazed and in disbelief.

"Face it, Mario," Bowser laughed. "I've finally won. There's nothing that can stop me!" Refusing to give in, Mario ran at Bowser as fast as he could.

"Just as I thought," Bowser continued. "You are useless against me, and you still want to fight! I've never seen such a bold idiot!"

"Ever look in a mirror?" shouted Mario angrily as he ran toward him.

"Hmph! I'm finished toying around with you Mario. It's time to end this!" Bowser took in a big breath. Mario quickly stopped and tried to turn back, but it was too late. Bowser's huge flame breath reached all the way through the hall, scorching the carpet ("I hope you'll pay for that, too!" said Peach).

Mario was caught in the fire. He tried to roll around, but the flames wouldn't go out, as if the fire was powered by some sort of invisible force. Eventually, the pain of the heat became too much for Mario to bear, and he collapsed onto the hard, hot ground.

"Mario!" shouted Peach.

Bowser stopped and stared, taking it in for a few seconds. Once the impact of his actions had settled in, he roared with laughter. "Yah!" he shouted joyously. "I did it! I actually defeated my rival, Mario!"

"Congratulations on your victory, Lord Bowser," the weird-looking Koopa finally spoke. "That's why you're…Hey! What do you mean I **finally** spoke? I've been talking this whole stupid time! Why don't you listen to me!?"

"With this Star Rod, I can do anything I want," Bowser said, completely ignoring the Koopa. "I'm all powerful! There's nothing that can stop me!" Bowser roared his approval. Looking down, he found Mario, painfully mangled from the flames. "Well, well, would you look at that sight? How pitiful… Let's just see how useful Mario can be now." Bowser raised the Star Rod, and it started glowing with white fire yet again. Suddenly, a bright ray of light shot out of it and struck Mario in the chest. It raised him up until he was level with the tip of the rod, and then it thrust him through the broken window. Fortunately, his clothes were no longer on fire.

Peach looked out the window until Mario fell through the clouds. "Oh no!" she shouted. "Mario!"

"Men," came the old Koopa's voice again. "Take Princess Peach, and lock her up in her private room, on the double!" Two armored Koopas came through the hallway, seemingly weak and exhausted.

"Man," said one of the guards, "they really need to get an elevator for these things!"

"Um, dude," said the other guard, "what's an elevator?" Shrugging at the comment, both the guards took Peach and led her away.

"Hey!" said Kammy. "They listened to me!"

"We're paid to listen to you, Madam."

"Neat! I can bribe people to listen to me!"

Peach was taken to her room. Mario was thrown from the sky. Everybody in the castle was trapped. The residents of Toad Town were in great peril. At this rate, all would soon be lost! What bizarre, convenient event could possibly happen at this very moment to turn the story around?


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

**The Goomba Village**

This bizarre, convenient event could possibly turn the story around! Isn't there always something like that in every story? Well, there is in this one.

Meanwhile, Mario was lying in a small forest, not so far away from a Goomba village. Although dead…in an unconscious sort of way, he started dreaming of seven blurry figures surrounding his body.

Two of the figures had knelt down to look at him. From the shape of their bodies, they couldn't possibly have been human, but Mario could not seem to tell what they might have been. One of the two kneeling figures spoke to the other, and Mario could just make out what she was saying. "Oh, dear. He's been horribly injured. What are we going to do about this?"

Almost immediately after she finished, the other figure spoke. This voice was male. "Injured? He's dead…ish! I knew Bowser was strong, but to be able to do this to Mario?" How did these things know what had happened to Mario? Were they in the castle with him? Mario wished he could speak to them, ask them questions, or something besides just lying there motionlessly.

The second figure continued, "Bowser has become more powerful than even Mario could imagine! Oh, what hope is there now?" Both of the figures stood back up with the rest.

One of the other figures spoke in an elderly tone, "Now, now, Kalmar, it's not all hopeless. As long as we have power within us, there is still hope. Now, I want all of you to give Mario every single bit of power you have."

"Wait," said another. "I thought you just said--"

"Forget about it," a fifth one spoke. "His memory is getting pretty bad lately."

Suddenly, Mario felt a rush of energy flow through his body. It was a dreamy sort of relief. Soon, the blurry figures started getting blurrier. They seemed to blend together until only one figure was visible. "Mario," the figure spoke. It was the elder. "I hope you can hear me. I am weak, and I cannot remain here much longer. The rest of my power must be conserved for now. All I have left to tell you is that you must meet me at Shooting Star Summit. It is the only place I can talk to you without struggling so. Perhaps that will give us enough time to fully explain the circumstances. Never give up hope, Mario. As long as you have a will, you will succeed." When the figure was finished speaking, he drifted away into the darkness.

Finally regaining his senses, Mario opened his eyes for the first time. How long had it been? As hard as it was to sit up, he assumed it had been quite a while. As his eyes adjusted to the room, which did not take long since the room was pretty dark, he looked around to see where he was. The room was small, even compared to his own bedroom, and the only things in it were the bed he had been sleeping on and a table with an unlit lamp. A door stood to his right. As he looked at it, it suddenly opened, shedding bright light and revealing a little Toad walking in. The light hurt Mario's eyes for a moment, and he had to cover them with his arm. The Toad noticed he was awake and jumped for joy.

"Oh, finally!" he exclaimed. "I wondered when the legendary hero would wake up!"

"Come on," said Mario, flattered. "I'm not that legendary."

"Sure you are! You've been asleep on that bed for twenty years!"

Mario stood straight up in his bed, startled by the news. "Twenty years!?" He looked at himself to see if his skin had wrinkled or if he'd grown a beard.

The Toad started laughing. "Just kidding. It's only been a few days. Still, ever since you went unconscious, Koopas have been controlling all of the Mushroom Kingdom, forcing us Toads to be slaves!"

"What!?"

"Heh, heh. I'm kidding again. I'm known pretty well for my jokes."

"Okay, where am I?" said Mario impatiently.

"Oh, you're in a village full of Goombas."

"Uh-huh." Fool him once, shame on you. Fool him three times, shame on me…I mean him. "Now, where am I really?"

"You're in Goomba Village."

"Right, well if you're not going to stop that, then I guess I'll just have to leave and find out for myself." He opened the door and found himself in front of a group of Goombas.

"Hey!" one of them said. "He's awake!" Then Mario fainted.

"Not anymore," said another one.

Mario woke up in a wooden bed (again). He looked around the room… again. "Hm," he said, "deja vu." Then that Toad came in.

"Hey!" he said. "You're awake. Are you ok?"

"I think so…" said Mario. "What happened?"

"Well, I played a couple jokes on you, and then I told you there were Goombas here, but you wouldn't believe me, and then you…"

"Goombas! I'll have to take care of this. Don't worry, I'll get you out of here."

"No, wait!" said the Toad, but it was too late. Mario ran out the door and jumped right on the first Goomba he saw, smashing it into the ground.

"I've got to get out of here," he said, looking for an exit.

"Stop!" said the Toad as he was coming outside. "They're really nice Goombas! They carried you over to this village to help you!"

"They did?" said Mario. "Oh." Then he looked around at all the Goombas. He looked down and saw the dazed Goomba stumbling around in front of him. "Um, sorry about that."

"It's okay," said the Goomba deliriously. "Goompa always said the sky would fall, and these stars'll keep me distracted from the lava."

"Right." Letting the Goomba rest for a minute, Mario turned to the others. "So, since I now know you're one of very, very, very, very, very, VERY few nice Goombas, maybe we could get to know each other."

One of the Goombas hopped up in front of the others. She looked just like the rest except for some red lipstick. "Okay. Well, I'm Goomama," she said excitedly. "This is my daughter, Goombaria." She introduced the little pink Goomba with the bow over her head. "And that's...uh, well he's my husband Goompapa." Mario glanced over at the Goomba he had jumped on. He was still waddling around in circles and was now apparently singing his own rendition of "My Bonnie".

"Uh, yeah, I'm sorry about that," Mario said.

"...Well, don't worry much about that. He'll be okay. Anyway, this is my oldest son, Goombario." She introduced a Goomba with a blue hat over his head. "We named him after you, because he's always wanted to be just like you. He's even practiced karate."

"How can he practice karate without any hands?"

"That's the problem we had. So we decided to use our heads on it… literally."

"I can't believe I'm meeting you, Mario!" Goombario shouted. "I've always heard about you. Saving princesses and kicking Koopa butt!" Mario felt a little guilty about what happened up in the castle, but he didn't think anybody could find out anytime soon, so he quickly shook it off.

"Now, Goombario, be polite… and put on that sweater I gave you!"

"Mom, it's the middle of the summer!"

"It sure is, but who knows when a cold draft could come around any time now? You don't want flu season to come early, do you? Anyway, Mario, this is my mother, Gooma." She introduced the wrinkled Goomba with grey hair. "And this is… oh, where'd he go now!" She walked… or waddled into the house. After a short while, Mario started to hear something!

"Get off a me! I'm busy!"

"Goompa, we have a guest! If you can't be polite, then you'll just have to sleep outside tonight!"

"Yer not the boss a me! I'm yer father! Besides, I need to finish up this here emergency shelter fer when the sky falls!"

"The sky ain't fallin'!"

"Then how do ya suppose the shakin' near Toad Town happened, huh? It sounded like the castle was bein' uprooted!"

"It was just an earthquake, and it ain't happenin' agin!" The strange accents were stifling to Mario.

"That was no earthquake! The sky fell on that there town, and we're next!" Then the door burst open, showing Goomama trying to push Goompa out the door. "Fine! But when y'all get crushed by the sky and want to beg fer shelter, don't come-a cryin' to me!"

"Look, I just want ya to say hello to Mario."

"Alright, hello to Mario. Look, son, I respect you and all that, but I'm really busy. Call me if you need me." Then he waddled back into the house.

Goompapa, coming back to his senses, joined the rest of the group. "Well, aside from that," he said, "I hope you enjoy your stay."

"Oh, I can't stay here," said Mario.

"You mean you're leaving already?"

"Well, I need to get back to Toad Town. I have to find out how to settle this little dilemma."

"Dilemma? What dilemma?"

"Ah, never mind. I just need to get back." Mario really didn't want to talk about how he just got his butt kicked by Bowser or how Bowser might have finally won the princess from him.

"Well, I'm sorry to say this, but the gate here hasn't been fixed yet from the recent earthquake. You'll have to wait a little while." To Mario, it didn't matter much. He needed time to think.

Now that nobody was in a hurry anymore, Mario had time to look around. The scenery in the village was pretty nice. There was a back gate and small little forest to the side of the village. You couldn't really call it a village, because it only had two houses made of wood. The first house was where Mario had woken up; the Toad must have made a living there. The next house was a little larger. It probably belonged to the family of Goombas.

All this was nice, but it didn't really pique Mario's interest, because he was thinking about something else. He thought about how to get the princess back. Bowser was way up in the sky, growing his army of minions and probably preparing to use them for terrible deeds. For the moment all seemed lost. The princess, the kingdom…

While he was thinking about this, Goompapa called him over. "Hey! I'm finished with the gate! I'm so happy to finally fix it! It took ages! Boy, I'd hate it if something bizarre and inconvenient were to happen right now that would break this gate almost beyond repair!"

"Eeeeheeeeheeeheeeeheeeeheee," someone nearby laughed bizarrely. Then that weird Koopa appeared, inconveniently flying on a broomstick.

"What is that weird thing?" asked Goombaria, looking up at the flying wonder.

"Weird!?" shrieked the Koopa. "Why you rude little…. First I get ignored, then I get insulted. It ticks me off! After all, I'm a beautiful Koopa with a beautiful name: Kammy U. Koopa."

"What's the U stand for?" asked Goombario.

"That's none of your business! I wish I had time to teach you a lesson, you brats! But no."

Then she turned to Mario. "Mario," she continued. "It's surprising to see you on your feet after taking such a beating from Bowser." Everybody looked at Mario in shock.

"Um, he pulled a fast one on me!"

"Ha! A fast one indeed. If I recall, you're the one who challenged him! Now look at where you wound up! I have to admit, though, you're better off than I thought you'd be. I'm glad I came to check on you. Still, you should know that saving the princess is impossible, ridiculous, and furthermore, laughable! Anyway, he told me to send you a little gift." Kammy Koopa raised her wand and created a block that crashed down into Goompapa's gate. Goompapa's eyes went wide with horror. "You could call it a get-well present. Ha! I hope you like it here, Mario, because you aren't leaving any time soon. It's a pity, though; you should've seen what wonderful changes Bowser has made! Ha, ha, ha! It's nothing compared to what will happen soon! Your world is ours now! Eeeh, hee, hee, hee, hoo, haaugh!" She flew away cackling at everyone's misery.

"Grrrrr," growled Goompapa frustrated. "I just fixed that gate! Nobody say gate to me ever again!" He grumbled a few words to himself and then continued, "That Kammy Koopa. Did you hear what she said about Princess Peach? Mario, is she right?"

"Well, yes," Mario finally admitted. "Bowser became stronger somehow, and not even I can beat him anymore. That's why you found me unconscious in the forest over there."

"What! Again!? Great. I guess now you have to go save her."

"Didn't you just hear me?" Now it was Mario's turn to be frustrated "He's more powerful than ever! He can't be beaten!"

"Isn't that what it seemed like when he created those eight towers around the kingdom to try to trick you?" said Goombario encouragingly. "You didn't give up on that, though, did you? And what about the time he sent Koopas to turn the king into a bunch of different animals? Did you give up then? What about the time he stole all those Power Stars? Did you give up then? What about the time…"

"Okay, I get it!" said Mario. "Sheesh, I've been through way too many troubles for one lifetime. Sigh… Maybe there is a way to do this." Then, something sparked up in Mario's head. He remembered his dream about the old… whatever it was that told him something about coming to Shooting Star Summit. We, of course, know it wasn't a dream. It was very real, indeed.

"Hey, thanks!" said Mario. "Now I know that there is still hope!" Oops, spilled the beans. Oh well, he's the good guy, so who cares? "Yes! I should go to Shooting Star Summit to meet whoever it was that told me to go. Maybe he can tell me something useful."

"That's the spirit!" said Goombario.

"But how are we going to get rid of this block?" said Goompapa.

"Dad," said Goombaria. "Doesn't Goompa have a hammer that could break this block?"

"Hey you're right," Goompapa continued. "Mario, go to Goompa and tell him that we need to borrow his hammer. He was working up on the verandah, despite that 'shelter' he was talking about." So, Mario went into the house, not really looking forward to asking a favor of that grumpy old codger. Despite how big the house looked from the outside, it was pretty cramped on the inside. The whole house was one room. The table was pretty large, but it was decent considering there were six people who ate at it every day. One bed was laid in a corner of the house, another bed at the opposite corner, and two smaller beds were laid at the corner beside it. In the last corner was another door. Mario assumed this was the door to the verandah.

Mario went across the room and opened the door. When he got outside, something didn't seem right. Goompa was gone, and something very important seemed to be missing. "Hmm…" Mario thought to himself. "Something's not right here, but what? Boy, I'm in thin air on this one." Then, looking down, Mario noticed that he really was in thin air. He fell and fell and… Well, usually, someone would die, but hey! He fell about a mile from the sky before! That and the Censor Company has been keeping tabs on me lately, and they're forcing me to avoid any deaths whatsoever, this book being a kid's story and all. (Okay, so I had a bunch of Toads in the castle fall off, but what they don't know can't hurt 'em, right?).

So, Mario fell into a soft pile of grass that came from nowhere. He stood up and brushed himself off. Then he looked around. Behind him were the remains of the verandah, which must have collapsed recently. A fence was posted to his left, leading down to the path, which seemed to have a road block in it. Looking around, he eventually found Goompa straining over his back. Goompa noticed him and walked up to him.

"Mario, were you looking for me?" he asked. "Opened the door and fell out of thin air, didn't you? While I was fixing the verandah, I heard a pop, and the whole thing collapsed. It really messed up my back! I can't even walk without waddling a little bit! Of course, I could never walk without waddling, but now it hurts! Anyway, I can't get back home because this block is blocking the path (what else would a block do?)." Looking up at the road, Mario could see another large block, very similar to the one Kammy had dropped on the fence. As Goompa had said, it was blocking the entire path that led up the hill back to the village. "This sure is a problem for us."

"We could use the hammer to break the block!" exclaimed Mario, happy that he had paid attention in plumbing school.

"Oh, right! Where did I put that hammer? I must have lost it when I fell. It should be over there."

Goompa walked away from the block and toward the field. "Right around here," Goompa continued. "It's a wooden double-head hammer. Maybe it fell in one of the bushes."

So, Mario began to search through the wild shrubs. "Well, let's see," he mumbled. "Here's a book."

"Hey! Goombario's been looking for that!"

"Here's a little doll."

"Hey! Goombaria lost that ages ago!"

"Here's a wrecked ship in a bottle."

"That Goompapa never really was interested in those hobbies. Either that or the ship broke when it hit the ground."

"Have you guys considered moving from this cliff?" As he said this, he finally stumbled over the hammer.

"Great," Goompa said. "Now we can go back home. Come on Mario." As they were walking, Mario noticed a little sign on the grass. It read "If you hapen to be reding this… GET OUT OF MY PLAYGROWND!" As he read it, he heard scuffling from near the fence. Then he saw Goompa rolling back and stopping in front of him with a black eye.

A little kid in an eggshell blocked the path. His eyes were beady black and his skin was yellow. Mario wasn't sure what it was, but it certainly wasn't human. "Hey, you idiots this is my playground you're standing on," he shouted rudely. "You can't come here without my permission. Don't you know it's rude? Now I, the great Jr. Troopa, will have to teach you guys a…"

Mario, annoyed by the brat, hit Jr. Troopa over the head with his hammer. Jr. Troopa fell over and started crying from the bruise. When he calmed down, he turned red from embarrassment. "Oh shoot!" Jr. Troopa got up and said, "I'll be back for you." He walked a few feet away, turned around and said, "I mean it! I'll be back!" Then, he ran off.

Once he was gone, Mario and Goompa walked over to the gate and destroyed the block. "He sickens me," Goompa murmured.

"What was that?" asked Mario.

"Oh, sorry, I was talking about that Jr. Troopa child. He's been a bully for a while now. My grandkids would come home from the playground every day complaining about some kid messin' up their fun. I just thought they were overreacting, kids that they are, but now that I've seen him with my own eyes, I got no choice but to believe 'em. After all, what kind of a sick brat would just go up and knock the poop outta some poor old Goomba like me? Why, back in my day, we would…" At this Mario stopped paying attention and simply walked. Through his experiences, he's learned that it's usually okay to zone out whenever somebody even mentioned the phrase "Back in my day".

Mario and Goompa continued along the trail. Occasionally, Mario would have to steer Goompa in the right direction since he was too busy rambling on about his ancient childhood to pay attention to the road. Before getting back to the village, Mario noticed a small wooden shack behind a tree. "What's that?" he asked Goompa.

"What?" said Goompa, surprised by the sudden interruption of his grand novel of a tale. "Oh, that." He waddled up to the poorly nailed shack. "This is the shelter I've been working on. Ain't she a beaut?"

Mario stared at the shack with pity. "Um, no offense to you or anything, but wouldn't your house be safer than this shelter?"

"Well of course! Right now, that is, but when I'm finished with it, it's going to protect us 'til the end of the world! Heck it might even protect us from that! Hehehe…" Mario slowly nodded, deciding it probably wouldn't be a good idea to protest.

As they made it back to Goomba Village, they found Goombario crying like crazy, but Goombaria seemed to be able to hold it back…or was it Goombaria that was crying and Goombario that was holding it back? Stupid uncreative names...

"I'm okay kids," Goompa said. "Thanks to young Mario here, I made it back in one piece." After he calmed the kids down, he turned back to Mario. "Mario, I have something for you. So don't go anywhere just yet." Goompa went into the house.

"Mario," said Goombario, "thanks for helping Goompa. That's why I like you. You always help those in need." He added in a whisper, "no matter how crazy they might be. I'm gonna be like you someday."

"Well, it took a little practice for me to get as good as I am," Mario said, trying to be modest.

"Goombario has been practicing," said Goombaria. "He studies karate and even works out to build muscles. He can break rocks just by slamming against it!"

"Aw, come on, Goombaria," said Goombario. "I'm not all that strong. Well, I am, but I still have a ways to go."

Goompa came back outside. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mario. I brought this for you." Goompa gave him a pair of sweat socks. "I figured if you're going on another adventure, you might as well keep an extra pair of socks to keep ya warm."

"Gee, thanks," said Mario, trying to hide the sarcasm. "Just what I've always wanted."

"Wow," said Goombario. "Mario's on another adventure. When I grow up, I'll be just like him." As flattered as Mario was by this kid, he was starting to get annoying.

"Hey, Goombario," Goompa continued. "I just got a brilliant idea. I think you're grown up enough, and hard times are upon us right now. I'm sure Mario would agree, so maybe you could accompany him." Mario's eyes got wide in horror. The last thing he really needed was for some adolescent fanatic to follow him around all day.

"Really?" Goombario asked in excitement, his eyes wider than Mario thought possible.

"As long as Mario agrees. You do, don't you Mario?"

All eyes were on Mario. He smiled nervously, looking down at Goombario, who was jumping up and down for joy. Mario knew such an attitude would come to be extremely annoying, but he couldn't bear to be responsible for wiping that big grin off of Goombario's face. Unable to say anything else, Mario just replied, "Sure."

"Cool!" shouted Goombario, jumping almost up to Mario's head. "I get to go on an adventure! This is the greatest day of my life!"

Goompa started yawning. "Just lookin' at all that excitement makes me drowsy. I guess it's time fer my nap." He suddenly snapped up. "What am I sayin'? Now that the verandah's gone, I need to get to work on that shelter agin! That sky won't just wait fer me to finish my nap!"

"Wait," said Mario. "Before you leave, could you take care of the fence?"

"What?" said Goompa. "My good-for-nothin' son-in-law ain't finished with it yet?" Ah, the age-old rivalry of in-laws.

"Well, he did," said Mario, "but it broke."

"Like I said, good-for-nothin'. Why, if I'd had a swing at it, it would've bin finished within the hour." Goompa waddled up to the gate and inspected it. "Well, here's yer problem. Ya shouldn'ta put this big ol' block on top of it. Decorations are fancy an' all, but too much'll weigh it down."

Goompapa was taken aback at Goompa's comment. "But I didn't--"

"Quit yer jabberin'. I'll fix it." Goompa took the hammer in his mouth, reeled back and spun the hammer around, smashing it into the block. As old as he was, seeing him spin around like that was a shock, even to the family. "Well, that should do it. Get to work on the rest, ya lazy bum… Hey, Mario. Why don't you go ahead and keep this hammer? I've got others in the shed." Goompa handed the old, wooden hammer to Mario. "It's a little worn, but you never know when it might come in handy. Good luck to ya! Now, I'm off to finish that so-called 'unnecessary' shelter." Goompa waddled away from the fence and back into the fields toward the shelter.

Goombario, who had been jumping around the whole time, was panting hard now. Catching his breath, he said, "Mario, let's go! I can't wait to get into the action!"

"Wait," said Goompapa. "What action? What are you doing?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm going on an adventure with Mario!" A ray of hope shone for Mario. He may not be able to disappoint, but his parents might.

"Wonderful!" Goompapa exclaimed. Mario's ray of hope had just hit a cloud. "You're not a kid anymore, so I think you're ready." Goompapa looked at Goombario with sad eyes for a while before finally letting him go on. "I'll sure miss you, though. Be good to Mario, now."

"I will, Dad."

"Good luck, Goombario. May the force be with you." Goombario and Mario stared at him. "Um, sorry. Heard it in a movie once. Anyway, good luck!" And so began the latest of Mario's daring adventures. Only this time, the results would be unpredictable. All Mario could do was trek onward to Shooting Star Summit. Perhaps his questions would be answered there.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**The Road to Toad Town**

"We're lost, aren't we?" Goombario asked after a few hours of traveling.

"Of course not," said Mario. "I'm just not sure where we're going right now, that's all."

"Why won't you let me tell you how to get there?" Ever since they had left the village, Mario was starting to regret ever taking Goombario along. He wouldn't stop talking about how much of a know-it-all he was. The last thing Mario wanted was to be outsmarted by this kid, and that included getting directions from him.

"I know how to get there."

"Then what's taking so long? When I come to Toad Town with my mom to shop, it only takes about an hour. Are you sure you know how to get there?"

"Yes," said Mario impatiently. "I know how to get there! I'm just not sure how to get there from here…" As he was talking, two peculiar-looking Goombas walked in front of them. One was red, and the other was blue, and both of them were at least three times Goombario's size. The red Goomba said, "Where do you think you're going?"

"We are heading to Toad Town," Mario replied. "Could you tell us where we could find it?"

"Hey!" Goombario shouted angrily.

The blue Goomba said, "We're the Red and Blue Goomba Bros., and we're faithful followers of The Goomba King. We can't let you pass."

Compared to Goombario, these Goombas seemed like giants. They were tough-looking. Mario decided it would be best to avoid a fight with them. So, he calmly explained, "We are simply trying to pass through. We do not want to cause trouble, so if you would please tell us--"

"What?" said Goombario. "You're just going to leave them? Come on! Let's fight 'em! We can take these slobs."

"Slobs!" said the Red Goomba. "That insult hurts, kid! We don't need to take crud like that from a brat like you!"

The blue Goomba added, "Be prepared to go crying to your mommy." The Goomba Bros. ran toward Mario and Gombario, ramming into them at full speed. Goombario tried to lessen the impact by bracing himself and ramming back, but the red Goomba's size overwhelmed him and sent him flying into a nearby tree. He laid there for a while, too hurt to get back up.

With a two-on-one battle with oversized Goombas, Mario's odds didn't seem too great. True, he had taken on worse, but he was still tired from his recent near-death experience. He would need more than his own strength to best these Goombas. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Mario spotted a small patch of Mushrooms behind the Goomba Bros. It was just typical for Goombas to pick a fight with Mario next to a Mushroom patch.

Mario waited until just the right moment. When both the Goombas jumped up to hit him, Mario ducked and rolled under them. The two Goombas hit each other instead. Dazed for a moment, they could not catch Mario in time to stop him from eating his well-deserved meal. With a burst of energy, he ran full-speed at the Goomba Bros., knocking one of them clear into a tree and then punching the last one square in the nose... Well, he didn't have a nose... so square in the face. Knowing full well that they'd been beaten, the Goomba Bros. scurried away through the trees.

When they were gone, Mario quickly went to help Goombario, who was still trying to recover from his blow. "Goombario," he said when he realized Goombario was still conscious. "This is a rule you need to remember. Never pick a fight you don't need to pick."

Goombario looked up at him. "Well, why didn't you stop me? You could've said something."

Mario simply smirked. "Because then you wouldn't have learned anything, now would you?" Goombario made sort of a spitting noise to show that he was not amused. "You'll thank me for that later. Can you walk?"

Goombario stood up and wobbled around a little. "Sort of. I'll be okay. We're pretty close to Toad Town, anyway. I'll just rest there. Now, will you let me show the way?"

Mario sighed in reluctance, but staying here while both he and Goombario were hurt was probably not the best idea. "Fine. Show the way." Smiling, Goombario walked through the forest while Mario followed.

As they walked along the path, Goombario said, "We should be coming up to the main gate's bridge. It should come into view right about now." They passed through the last clump of trees, but instead of a bridge, they found themselves standing in front of a huge fortress at the edge of a cliff. The bridge was on the other side of the fortress. Mario looked at Goombario, who was confused for some reason.

"Hm," he said, "there wasn't a tower here before. Why is it blocking the path?"

Then the ground suddenly shook. "What was that?" asked Goombario, stepping back a little bit. The ground shook violently again, followed by a huge Goomba hopping up on the first-story roof of the tower. When he hit the roof, the ground shook even harder. He was at least three times the size of both the Goomba Bros. combined. He wore red- and white-striped pants and a crown that seemed to be made out of rotten walnuts.

"I should have known," said Mario. "Who else would want to make his own tower just for the sake of getting in somebody's way?"

"Hey!" said the big Goomba. "Who says I live in this tower?"

"…You just came out of it."

"Oh, well, you're right! I am the great and powerful Goomba King." Then there was some sort of strange organ music. You know, the one with three notes, the last one being really high? It's the kind of music that occurs during strange, sudden, and desperately inconvenient situations, like this one, for instance.

Mario and Goombario looked around for a moment. Then, the Goomba King continued. "I just want to know why my servants came crying about how you kicked the tar out of them. They want revenge now, and I'll let them have it… now!" Then the Goomba Bros. hopped up onto the tower. That same creepy organ music started again.

"That's right, Mario," said Red. "We're back, and do you know what time it is?" Mario shook his head. "It's time for… my lunch break! I haven't eaten for at least twenty minutes! See ya, Goomba King."

"What!?" said the Goomba King. "You can't quit now! Don't you want revenge on Mario?"

"Maybe later. I'm really hungry." Then Red Goomba left.

"Fine, then! You're fired! I'll beat him myself… but could you save some of that lunch for me, please?" Then that strange music started up again. "Oh, for crying out loud… Blue, could you shut that stupid organist up? He's been practicing that same tune over and over again for hours!" So, Blue jumped back in to shut up the organ player.

"Wait," said Mario. "You mean that music wasn't meant for strange and inconvenient situations?"

"Nah, it was just coincidence." So, they listened for the smashing of a heavy music-playing object. They heard the smashing. Then…

"Hey! What was that for?"

"We're sick of that song!"

"Then why didn't you just tell me to stop playing?"

"…Gee, I didn't think about that."

"Well, who's going to pay for my organ?"

"Why don't you use your kidneys?"

"What would that do?"

"Well, they're organs aren't they?"

"What!? That's the stupidest…" Then they heard fighting. There was the sound of tables crashing, pots breaking, clocks coo-cooing, beds overturning, walls collapsing, toilets… Walls collapsing? Mario looked a little further to see not two but three Goombas bursting through the side of the tower. They fought and fought until they almost fell off the cliff.

Then Red Goomba stopped them. "What are we doing?" he said.

"Hey," said Blue, "since when are you in this fight?"

"Since you guys ran me over and dragged me here after throwing my sandwich on the ground!" Mario, Goombario, and the Goomba King were all watching this, trying to contain their laughter.

Goombario tried to think of how to get rid of them all. "What now?" he asked.

"Got a golf ball?" said Mario.

"Huh?"

"I do!" said the Goomba King. "I practice!"

"Wait!" said Goombario. "How can you golf without hands?"

"Who needs hands when you've got a big mouth?" So the Goomba King ran inside. He came out holding a golf club, a golf ball, and a golf tee in his mouth. Spitting them out, he asked, "So, where do we start?"

Mario reluctantly took the slobbery tee and golf ball and placed them right behind the three Goombas. "You start here. The object is to hit it way over to the other side."

"Cool! I can do that!" Then the three Goombas looked at him in shock. The Goomba King was about to swing the club.

"Wait!" said the organist, but the Goomba King already swung his club. The golf ball flew off the tee and hit the organist hard, knocking him off the cliff. There were a few thuds and then a big splash. The golf ball bounced back on the ground in front of the tee.

"Darn… I need more practice. Can I try again?"

This was too easy. "Sure," said Mario. So, the Goomba King hit the ball again, this time hitting Blue Goomba. He and the ball both flew over the cliff, hitting the… oh, gross! Oh, that's nasty! Of all the places to land, ooooh!

"Wow!" said Mario. "You almost made it, too. Well, my turn!" Mario took the golf club from the Goomba King.

"Wait," he said, "where's your ball?"

"I don't need one," Mario said, hitting the Goomba King right over the…

WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INTERRUPTION, BUT WE, THE CENSOR COMPANY, BELIEVE THIS EVENT TO BE TOO VIOLENT TO BE PLACED IN A CHILDREN'S BOOK. ANYMORE VIOLENT EFFORTS, INCLUDING BLEEDING, HITTING, SMACKING, PUNCHING, KICKING, AND ESPECIALLY THE GIVING OF LARGE BOOBOOS, WILL RESULT IN THE AUTOMATIC ARREST OF THE AUTHOR AND DISCONTINUATION OF THE BOOK. THANK YOU.

Well, that was stupid.

NO MEAN WORDS, EITHER.

Why those… not nice people! Anyway, the Goomba King fell over and squashed Red Goomba. Then he tumbled off the cliff. WATCH IT…

"See what I mean?" Mario said to Goombario. "You don't necessarily have to face your opponent head on. You just need to be creative."

Goombario nodded. "Can we just get to Toad Town so I can rest?" he asked impatiently. Mario nodded in agreement and went through the small fortress and across the bridge. Little did he know that the one and only Kammy U. Koopa (It's anybody's guess what the U stands for) was spying on him. Scowling, she flew away to report the news to King Bowser.

Mario and Goombario walked on until they could see Toad Town in the horizon. It wasn't a pleasant sight. Even from a distance, Mario could tell how much ruin Bowser had caused throughout the town. Pieces of wood were lodged all over the place. Boulders had tumbled onto the paths. Buildings were completely totaled. As Mario came closer, he could make out a few moving dots in the street. Apparently, some of the Toads had decided to pitch in and help with the ruin. Everyone was working hard to clean up the mess. Roads were closed off, and everyone had to watch their step when walking by.

"Wow!" Goombario exclaimed. "That earthquake really did some damage! This is unbelievable!" Mario realized that Goombario had not yet known about what had happened to the castle. He considered telling Goombario, but he was too exhausted to want to go through that story again. Instead, he kept walking until he passed through the front gates of Toad Town.

As Mario passed by, a couple of the workers glanced at him and smiled with relief. One even came up to Mario, shouting, "You made it! You came back alive!" Despite Mario's look of assurance, the Toad's smile dropped. "Where is she? Where's Peach?" Mario's disappointed look was all the Toad needed to understand. "Is she still in the castle? She's still…" The Toad looked up, as if trying to find where the castle had stopped. Mario walked on through the littered town, finding despair everywhere he looked. Then he remembered something. "Luigi!" he said out loud and ran back toward the gate.

In a corner of the gate was a large pile of rubble. Mario wasted no time in clearing it away. Even in his exhaustion, he had no trouble removing the wood. Soon, the rubble started opening up to reveal something green. It was a warp pipe. Once the rubble was completely cleared, he jumped into the pipe, Goombario following closely behind.

As Mario came out through the warp pipe, he saw that his house had not been damaged throughout the calamity. It was too far away to be affected. Nonetheless, large amounts of leaves had fallen from the trees due to the tremors. To Mario's surprise, the leaves had been gathered into large piles. That must've meant….

"Luigi!" he shouted again and ran into the house. As he entered the house, he noticed that some of the glass decorations around the house were missing. They must have fallen from the tremors as well, and the fact that no broken glass was on the ground could only be explained by one thing. Luigi had escaped the castle.

Relieved, Mario walked into his room and, as expected, spotted Luigi on the bottom bunk of his bed. His loud snoring, although usually annoying at night, was pleasant to Mario at this point. Still, he did not want to wait for Luigi to wake, so he shook him gently until he woke up.

Despite his gentle tap, Luigi screamed and stumbled out of bed. "I'm not the one you want!" he shouted to nobody in particular. "It was my evil half-brother, I tell you. He caused your wife to leave you…" He opened his eyes and saw Mario staring down at him. "Oh, hi, Mario."

"Having nightmares about soap operas again, Luigi?"

"What? No… I was just…" Luigi stopped and looked back at Mario. "Mario? Is it really you?"

"It's-a me," Mario said.

"Oh, Mario! I thought you'd been caught up in the castle! I wondered what was going to happen to you! So, where's the--"

"She's still up there," Mario said, annoyed by the question. "But I'm going to find a way to save her… somehow." If Goombario had not been so tired, this conversation would probably have aroused his curiosity, but at the moment, he didn't care so much.

Luigi, however, seemed concerned at Mario's comment. "Mario, is everything okay?"

"What do you mean? I'm fine! I mean, she always gets caught up like this, doesn't she? It's nothing new."

"It's not that," Luigi said. "When you said you had to save her… you didn't seem very…"

"Very what?" Mario asked curtly.

"Confident. Are you all right?"

Mario sighed. "I'll be fine."

"You shouldn't worry about him so much," said Goombario. "It's the princess we should be worried about."

Luigi looked down at the Goomba in confusion. "Um, Mario… Who is this?"

"Oh, right," Mario said. "I'd like you to meet Goombario. He'll be joining me on this adventure."

"Joining you?" Luigi's face changed from confused to baffled. "Why? You usually don't let anybody join you, especially a Goomba."

"Times have changed," said Mario.

"I see." In an effort to change the subject, Luigi asked, "Well, where have you been? It's been days!"

"It's a long story," said Mario. "We need to rest for a while, anyway. I guess I could explain it while we're here."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 **

**The Truth Revealed**

Mario explained everything that had happened since the castle had risen while Goombario was sleeping in the bottom bunk of their beds. After telling his side of the story, Mario asked, "What about you? How did you get out?"

"Oh, that's simple," Luigi replied. "I just ran out when the shaking started. After that, I saw the whole castle rise up in the air! It was nothing like I'd ever seen! There was actually another castle on top of it, at least three times as big! The entire courtyard was shredded to pieces."

"Did anyone else get out?"

He shrugged. "Probably. I was so shocked, I wasn't really paying attention. I'm not sure anybody knows who's still stuck up there."

"Except for the princess," Mario added. "This is bad. Bowser's gotten pretty low, but this is too much."

"You'll get him, bro. You always do, after all."

"I suppose," Mario said, not too confidently. "It's just that I've never been beaten by him before. Now that I have, I'm not so sure what will happen the next time I see him."

"Until then, though, you should get some rest. I'm sure after that kind of fall, you'd be pretty tuckered out."

"Not really. Besides my walk from Goomba Village to here, I've been asleep for about three days straight! I'm a little sore, but I can get along pretty well, at least until it gets dark." Mario really was in no mood to sleep.

"Come on, Mario. I know you're worried, but don't be a tough guy right now. Your friend over there's sleeping like a rock, so I'm sure he'll be out all night! You might as well stay and rest. I'm not sure why, but I'm thinking you've got a long journey ahead of you."

"When don't I?" asked Mario. Still, Luigi was right. Mario needed the rest, and he wasn't going anywhere soon. "Well, you're right, I guess. I should be getting to bed." He glanced over at the bunk bed, noticing Goombario was still asleep on the bottom bunk, which belonged to Luigi. "Where are you going to sleep?" Mario asked.

"Oh, you know me, Mario. I'm a heavy sleeper. As long as it's not pitch black out or something, I should be fine. So stop worrying and get some sleep."

"You sure?"

"I'm not the one going on an adventure, Mario. I'll be fine. Go get some sleep." Mario had no choice but to agree. The adventure hadn't even started yet, and he was already exhausted. As much as he wanted to continue, he knew it would be a bad idea.

Even so, as he climbed into his bunk, he knew he wouldn't be able to get to sleep, at least for a while. Too many things were on his mind. The voice of the elder rang incessantly in his head. _Come to Shooting Star Summit… Come to Shooting Star Summit…_ Perhaps all of his questions would be answered there. Would they tell him about Bowser? How to stop him? Or did they just come to warn him that it was too late? No. There had to be a way.

As the sun slowly set over the quiet house, Mario finally managed to fall asleep…

He dreamed about the elder again, telling him to come to the summit. He could see the princess calling for help, and Bowser laughing maniacally, waving his "Star Rod" back and forth. He glared back at Mario and gave him a wretched smirk. Then he raised his rod, and a bolt of lightning shot from it and struck Mario through the eyes.

Mario woke up in a daze. The light from the bolt still flashed in front of him. Sitting up, he realized that Goombario was sitting next to him, shining a flashlight in his eyes. "Mario," he whispered. "Are you awake?"

Mario grunted impatiently. He didn't know what the time was, but if it was still dark, he knew it was too early to be bothered. "Goombario, what do you want?" he asked. Looking down at the floor below, he added, "And how did you get up here?"

"Shh!" Goombario looked behind him for some sign of movement. Turning back toward him, he said, "I found something, but I need your help."

"Goombario, we'll do it later. We need to sleep right now." He wasn't too thrilled that Goombario had woken him up after all the trouble he had gone through to fall asleep.

"No, we can't do it while he's awake! Come on! It'll just take a second." Grabbing the flashlight in his mouth, Goombario jumped off of the bed and landed hard on the ground. Mario rolled his eyes, but he knew Goombario wouldn't let him sleep until this was settled. Climbing out of his bed, Mario crept over Luigi, who was snoring peacefully on the ground, and followed Goombario.

They both stopped in a small corner of the room, but Mario couldn't see anything worth waking up for. "Look on the floor," Goombario said. Mario looked down onto the wooden floor. The planks were arranged diagonally across the room in a sequence, all except for a small square of floor below them. "Why do you think this panel is different from the rest?" Goombario wondered.

Mario could only be annoyed at this moment. "You woke me up to tell me that the floor's messed up? We need to get some sleep, Goombario!" Mario tried to keep his voice down so as not to wake Luigi, but he could not help stamping his foot down in his anger. Instantly, the floor below him gave way, and both he and Goombario went tumbling into darkness.

Mario hit the floor below them hard and lay sprawled out, not knowing where he was or how he had gotten there. The flashlight bounced down as well, shining a ray of light every which way. Soon after the fall, Goombario grabbed the flashlight and looked around. The room they were in was musky and cold, and the floor was made of dirt instead of wood. "What is this place?" Goombario asked.

"I don't know," said Mario. "I've never seen it before."

"Maybe we should look around."

"No," said Mario. "We need to find a way back up." But Goombario ventured on through the darkness. Reluctantly, Mario followed him. Fortunately, it did not take long to reach the other side. The room couldn't have been any bigger than the room above them. At the end of the room was a wooden table with a small lamp. In the middle of the table was a notebook.

"I wonder what that is," said Goombario as he hopped up onto the table. Turning the lamp on, he read the book's cover. "_Luigi's Diary_."

"What?" said Mario. "What's that doing here?"

"Who cares? Can we read it?"

Mario shook his head. "That's Luigi's. We can't just read something like that."

"Aw, come on! This is perfect!"

"I'm not reading it. If you want to waste your time with that, fine. I'm going to find a way out of here." Mario grabbed the flashlight and started looking through the room for an exit. He heard the pages of the book turn as Goombario started reading it out loud. "_Entry one: I've decided since I finally finished this place, I might as well keep a diary here. Heh, it's kind of funny when you think about it. Mario has no idea there's a whole room down here! It's the perfect place to keep you, my new diary!_ Aw, come on, Mario! This looks like it's gonna be great!"

"Whatever," said Mario, still looking through the room. "Oh, I found a way out!" he said as the light shined on a warp pipe in the corner of the room. "We can get out of here now, Goombario… Goombario?"

"_Entry Five: I had that dream again, diary. This time, the evil stepsister blamed me for Brianne's death. Now, my second cousin twice removed thinks I'm a murderer and won't ever speak to me again. But I know I didn't do it! It wasn't my fault! How am I ever going to explain that to him, though? Oh, now I'm afraid to go back to sleep. What's he going to do to me?_"

"Entry five?" Mario asked. "How long has this place been here, anyway?"

"I don't know, but there's plenty more where that came from. There's gotta be more than fifty pages in here!"

"Oh." Mario's curiosity was getting the better of him now. "Well, we shouldn't keep reading his diary. We _should_ go back up…"

"…So, keep reading?"

"One more." So, Mario and Goombario read another page of Luigi's juicy secrets. After that, they didn't think it fair that the others hadn't been read yet either. And so, they skimmed through the entire book page by page. They read all sorts of Luigi's personal matters, from his "scary" dreams to his deepest wish of getting to sleep on the top bunk someday. Seconds turned to minutes. Minutes turned to hours. Eventually, those hours would turn to days, but by then Mario and Goombario would be long gone.

Finally, the duo came to the last entry. "Oh, man!" Goombario groaned. "It was just starting to get good! Oh well. Let's just read the last one. _Entry 58: I'm lucky to be here right now, diary. The princess was kidnapped the other day (Take a wild guess who took her), along with a whole bunch of people from the town. I would have been captured too if it hadn't been for my lightning quick reflexes._" Mario chuckled, remembering that Luigi had only been standing a few feet away from the door before the earthquake. Skimming down the page, part of the entry caught Mario's eye. _I'm not sure what happened to Mario. He must be with the others in the castle. I can't believe it's gone. He took the whole castle. It's just a big, ugly hole in the ground now! I can't even bear to go over there anymore._ Before Goombario could read that part, Mario quickly shut the book. "Hey!" Goombario shouted indignantly.

"That's enough for now. We should get going."

"But we were almost—" Suddenly, they both heard a noise from the room above. Somebody was walking around in the bedroom. It could only be Luigi.

"How long have we been down here?" Mario asked.

"Only a couple hours. It was almost morning when I woke you up."

"Almost morning!?"

"Well, you needed the sleep, so I thought…"

"We need to get out of here!" Turning off the lamp, Mario and Goombario stumbled toward the warp pipe. Just as they found it, they could hear part of the ceiling give way followed by a soft thud. Luigi was inside. Quickly, Mario and Goombario jumped into the warp pipe.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"That was too close," said Mario as he climbed into the yard. "Let's not do that again, okay?"

"Oh, come on," said Goombario, following Mario out of the pipe. "That was totally worth it! Especially the part about Luigi and the hairdryer!"

"Yeah. That's the last time he just lets that thing 'air out'."

"But what was up with that last page? Was Luigi there when Bowser took Peach?"

"…Most of us were there when it happened. Only a few us were lucky enough to get away." He knew Goombario would have to know the truth eventually, but Mario couldn't bring himself to tell him that the entire castle had been uprooted. "Let's get back to town before Luigi comes outside."

Obediently, Goombario followed him to the pipe leading to town. As they climbed through the debris on the other side, Goombario asked, "So, now what?"

"What else?" Mario said. He pointed to his right and stated, "To Shooting Star Summit!"

"Um, Mario…"

"What is it?"

"The summit's the other direction."

"What makes you think that?"

"Look to your left." Mario turned around saw a frenzy of stars shooting through the sky, landing soundlessly onto the tall hill in the horizon.

"Hmm…" Mario thought. "I wonder why I've never noticed that before…"

So he and Goombario walked through the town towards the shining hill. Some of the debris had been picked up since the day before, but the town was still barely recognizable. The roads were a complete mess of splintered wood and metal, and most of them had been closed off. Making their way through the winding detours, they managed to get to a more open area. They could see the summit just beyond a tall metal gate. Half of the gate had been ripped from its hinges, and the other half hung uselessly by a twisted piece of metal, tilting back and forth with the wind. Mario spotted a faded star emblem on the gate and immediately recognized where he was. Stopping in front of the door, Mario now realized why he had never seen the summit before. Confused as to why Mario had stopped, Goombario asked, "What are you doing? We need to get through here!"

"The castle…" Mario whispered.

"What about the castle?" Goombario asked impatiently. Mario closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was no hiding it now. This was the only way to the summit. He had to face it. As quickly as he could, he pushed open the gate and stared at the scene behind it.

Mario had never seen anything so devastating in his life. Not only the castle but the entire courtyard had been uprooted by Bowser's obnoxiously huge castle. Trees had been overturned and lay helplessly on their sides. Large mounds of dirt surrounded the lone spot where the castle once stood. Luigi's use of the word "hole" had been an understatement. Bowser's castle had created a crevice. It must've been at least a mile deep, all full of barren and dry dirt. Some tunnels could be seen near the bottom where Bowser's minions must have come in. Near the edge, a couple Toads stood watching the ditch, eyes still full of disbelief.

Mario was speechless. Neither he nor Goombario could speak to each other as they gaped at the scene. Finally, the shock of it all subsided, and he was able to think clearly again. Looking down at Goombario he said softly, "We should go now." Quietly, they both continued to follow the path to the summit.

The scenery around the summit was a relief after the courtyard. The entire hill glowed with unnatural brilliance. Shooting stars flew by at a dangerously fast speed, and Mario was afraid he might get hit by one. Carefully, he made his way to the top of the sacred summit. When he finally reached the top, he saw that the top of the hill was just a flat surface, like a plateau. As soon as he and Goombario stepped on it, the stars mysteriously stopped falling, and there was silence. The glowing lights of the summit all seemed to radiate from the very center, rushing out from there and circling around the entire hill.

In the middle of the summit sat a yellow star, whose face reflected such patience that it seemed he could wait an eternity. He had small black eyes and a large grey mustache that hid his mouth. Mario assumed it was the elder in the dream he had. Somehow, it didn't surprise him much that he was a star.

As he came closer, the elder stood up and greeted him. "Mario, you have come at last…" He backed up, and six other stars appeared, each one distinct in its own way. The oldest star continued. "My name is Eldstar. We are the seven Star Spirits. It is our duty to grant wishes with the Star Rod." That must have been why they knew about his loss at the castle. Mario had thought these people were important, but he never imagined he'd be dealing with the honorable Star Spirits!

After Eldstar, the spirit with the bow started talking. "We'll start from the beginning." Her voice seemed to have a country touch to it. "As you may know, the Star Rod we possessed had the power to grant wishes. We were always granting wishes to those who deserved it. Bowser, however, was only making selfish wishes such as 'I want to trounce Mario' or 'I want Princess Peach to like me'. Of course, we don't grant wishes like that."

Then, a white star with eyeglasses started speaking. "That fiend, Bowser!" This Spirit held an austere tone to his voice. "When he found out we were ignoring his wishes, he came to Star Haven and stole the Star Rod for himself!"

Mario was confused. "I thought you were more powerful than Bowser. Couldn't you have stopped him from taking the Star Rod?" He tried not to sound accusing.

A blue star with a sailor's cap answered his question. "It is true. We do have the power to stop any mortal being." This Spirit had a strong voice to suit his sailor's cap. "Bowser shouldn't have even made it to Star Haven. We aren't even sure how he could have gotten in without being noticed, but we do know that he had help from Kammy Koopa. She's attempted to steal our power in the past. We've bested both of them individually, but together, they found a way to trick us. So here we are, trapped in Bowser's scheme while he celebrates his victory."

Another star, this one holding a dazzling red ribbon, began to speak. "This is where we need your help." This star's voice sounded surprisingly similar to Peach's, but it was much firmer. "If Bowser can best us with assistance from Kammy, then we can best him with you're help."

"What can I do?" asked Mario. "Do you want me to fight Bowser again?"

"Oh, I wish it were that easy, Mario. We all know the vengeance you want to place on Bowser's head, but first you need to rescue us, else you'll simply be beaten like before."

This confused Mario even more. "Rescue? But you're here now. What do you need rescue from?"

A star with a book in his hand answered, "We are all trapped by Bowser's minions." His voice seemed soft and distant as he spoke. "The only reason you can see us here right now is because we are using our power to communicate with you, just like in your dream. Even now, though, our power is fading."

By the time the last star was speaking, Mario could already see what the one before him was talking about. His appearance was faded, and Mario couldn't make out any specific details except that he was a star. "Mario," he said with a voice far more solemn than the rest. "We cannot talk to you much longer. So listen well to what I am about to say. We have given you everything we can from here on in. Now, you must help us. We have all been captured and taken to different parts of the world, powerless before those who are guarding us. You must find us and destroy anyone who gets in your way. Time is short. You must hurry."

"But where are you?" Mario asked. "If you need me to find you, I have to know where you are!"

"Alas," Eldstar spoke again. "Even that opportunity has evaded us. If time had been more convenient, we could tell you, but we do not even know ourselves. I am grieved that we could tell you so little, but at least you know what must be done… Please, Mario. Never give up. Just keep trying…" As he finished, the seven of them faded completely away.

"Wow," Goombario whispered in shock. "This is more serious than we thought, isn't it?" Mario slowly nodded. "This isn't just about the princess anymore…"

"No," Mario replied. "But that's still a big part."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Will Mario find the Star Spirits in time? Will Princess Peach and the other prisoners ever be rescued? And will Luigi ever realize that his secret has been revealed? Questions will be answered, and new questions shall arise in their place, in the next chapter of Paper Mario!


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for the delay, but this chapter is finally up! When we last left our hero, he had just met with the seven honorable Star Spirits. Now, he must find a way to find them and rescue them from imprisonment. Only then can he stop Bowser from his nightmarish schemes!**

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mini-Chapter 1

Peach's Pal

No, it's not a joke. We are doing mini-chapters for the princess. What? Just because it's unusual doesn't mean I can't do it, can I? No judging.

So, at the castle, Peach was locked up in her room, crying out of worry for Mario. "Oh Mario," she cried. "What has happened to you? What has happened to everybody? How could Bowser do something like this?" She sat on her bed by the window, thinking about what she could do to help them. Giving up, she grabbed a necklace from around her neck and gazed at it. At the end of it was a small glass star, stained pink to match her dress. It always reminded her of the stories she had heard about wishing to the stars. Legend had it that if somebody was lucky enough, one of the stars would come down and grant that wish for them. Smiling a little, she whispered, "I wish someone would help me."

Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming from the hallway. "Blast it!" came Bowser's voice. "How do you open this thing?"

"Try turning the doorknob," Kammy suggested.

The door to Peach's room opened, and Bowser walked in with Kammy Koopa following close behind. "Hey, it works!" he exclaimed. Looking at Peach, he continued, "Well, well, Princess Peach. How are you doing this fine day?" Peach averted Bowser's gaze and refused to answer.

"Oh, cheer up, Princess!" Kammy said indignantly. "You're going to be here for a while, so you might as well get used to it! Don't you start thinking that Mario could just fly up here and come in at any moment!"

Bowser looked nervously out the window for a moment. Satisfied that nothing was coming through, he said, "That's right, Princess" Bowser said. "As long as I've got this Star Rod, no one in the Mushroom Kingdom can touch me! You know the power to grant wishes? It's mine now! Ha ha ha!"

"Ha!" shouted Kammy, "Your loyal subjects must be so disappointed because their wishes aren't being granted. It serves them right for the way they've treated us Koopas over the years."

In a softer tone, Bowser said, "If you, you know, want anything, Princess, all you have to do is ask. Like I said, I can grant any wish. Of course, I'll only take requests that I like. Anyway, think about it. I'll be seeing you, Princess!"

"Stay out of trouble, Princess!" Then, Bowser and Kammy walked back into the hall and slammed the door.

"Oh, please," Peach pleaded, "if only somebody could help me." Suddenly, a soft tap came from her left, startling her out of her bed. Turning around, she could see something bumping into the balcony window. It was a little Star Kid. Peach opened the window, and the Star Kid flew in with an eager smile on his face. "Hello Princess Peach. How are you?"

"You…" said Peach. "You're a Star Kid, aren't you? What are you doing here?"

"I'm Twink," the little Star Kid replied, "and I came here to grant your wish."

"Oh! You came here because I wished that somebody could help me?" Peach's heart raced as she thought about how she could use him to stop Bowser. It seemed too good to be true. Could she really end this misery right now? "Okay, will you go and take the Star Rod from Bowser so that Mario can stop him?"

Twink's smile dropped into a frown. Just as she feared; it _was_ too good to be true. "I'm sorry, I can't do that. Maybe one of the Honorable Star Spirits could do that, but not a kid like me." His face perked up again as he said, "Ask for something easy, something a small star can do."

"Okay." Peach thought about it for a few seconds. Then, she eagerly requested, "Could you take me out of here? There are people who are still trapped in the castle, and I need to help them escape."

"No, I'm so sorry. Actually, to be honest, I just rose up from the sky a day ago. If I were a more splendid star, maybe I could help."

"No, that's okay. Don't be sad, Twink." Then, trying to be optimistic, she added, "I'm sure Mario's on his way to rescue us, anyway." Then, Peach had an idea. Taking her star necklace, she handed it to the star kid. "Could you take this to Mario? Take this to him and tell him that I'm okay, so he doesn't have to worry about me."

Excited, Twink replied, "Okay, I'll do it. I'll take this to Mario right away." As Twink fluttered away, Peach wandered out onto the balcony. She was suddenly filled with a sense of loneliness.

"Oh Mario," she said. "Where are you?"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Chapter 5**

**Koopas, and Fuzzies, and Shells… Oh, My!**

Mario and Goombario climbed slowly down the summit. "So, where do we go from here?" Goombario asked.

Mario shook his head. "I'm not so sure." Hearing himself say this, he was filled with a sense of hopelessness. He had been expecting to know what to do next after meeting the Star Spirits. Even hearing that there was nothing he could do seemed better than this. They just left him without a clue. For now, all he could do was make his way back to Toad Town.

Just before the castle grounds were in sight, something hit the back of Mario's head and knocked him to the ground. "Ouch!" someone shouted directly above him. As Mario got up, shaking his head from the pain, he saw a little Star Kid with a worried look on his face. "Sorry! So sorry!" he shouted. "I'm in kind of a hurry." When he saw Mario's face, he stopped and stared for a moment. Then suddenly, he began to fly around excitedly. "Hey! You're Mario, aren't you?"

"…Yes," Mario replied reluctantly. Whenever some random thing went looking for him, it usually meant trouble was just around the corner.

"Oh, thank goodness! I'm glad I found you in time!"

"Who are you?" Goombario asked.

"Oh, sorry. My name's Twink! I came here to grant a wish from Princess Peach." Mario's heart jumped. "She wanted me to give you this." He reached out one of his arms and showed them a glass, star-shaped jewel on a necklace. "She wanted me to tell you that she's alright and not to worry about her."

Mario took the necklace from Twink. "Thank you," he said, putting it in his pocket. It was the only memento of Peach he had, and it really meant a lot.

"Wait, so you've seen the princess?" Goombario asked.

"Yeah. I think she's locked up in her room right now, but nothing's happened to her. She's just waiting for you, Mario." Twink's words gave Mario a boost of confidence. Peach was counting on him. He had to find the Star Spirits now.

"Ha! I finally found you!" someone shouted. Suddenly, a Magikoopa from above swooped down on a broomstick.

"Oh, no! You followed me?"

The Magikoopa cackled. "You foolish Star Kid! I knew you would lead me to Mario if I followed you. Now, I can take Mario down once and for all! Kammy will be so proud!"

Goombario hopped up in front of Mario. "You just try it, Koopa!"

"Goombario, wait!"

"Let me do this, Mario!" Goombario said determinedly. "I know what to do. Trust me!"

"Alright then," said the Magikoopa. "You'll be first." He raised his wand and began to charge power.

"Wait for it…" Goombario mumbled, holding his ground. The Magikoopa swung his wand down, and Goombario took his opportunity. He dove under the Magikoopa just as a beam of light struck the spot where he had just been standing. As the Magikoopa was charging up for another attack, Goombario jumped straight up at him, knocking him clear off of his broomstick. The Magikoopa hit the ground face-first, and his wand flung ten feet away from them. Before he could get up, Goombario rammed into him and sent him flying the other direction. He hit the wall of the bridge and crumpled to the ground.

Mario and Twink were aghast. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" Mario asked.

Goombario caught his breath and replied, "Well, it's no big deal. I just remembered that Magikoopas had slow reactions. Besides, that one was pretty weak. They usually know better than to drop their wands."

"Well," said Twink. "It looks like you have yourself a good partner, Mario."

Mario looked down at Goombario and smiled. "It looks like I do." Goombario smiled back, satisfied.

"Well, I think I need to get going. I'll bet the princess is getting pretty lonely up there. I may not be able to help her much, but I can at least keep her company. Good luck Mario." With that, Twink flew off back into the sky and out of sight.

"Wow," said Goombario. "There he goes, back to Bowser's castle. What a brave little guy."

"Yep," Mario agreed. "But he's got his things to take care of, and we have ours. Come on! Let's head back to the town." The two of them walked back on the road (averting their eyes when they came to the castle grounds), and entered through the gate.

As he came into the town, one of the worker Toads walked up to him. "There you are! I was looking all over for you!"

_Here it goes,_ Mario thought. "What is it?"

"You know Merlon, right? He's looking for you." Mario shuddered. _Not Merlon!_ Merlon was the ecstatic "fortune-teller" of Toad Town. He always dramatized every little thing that happened and used it as an excuse to take your money and read your fortune. The worst of it was his tendency to tell the FULL story, every little detail included.

"Are you sure he's looking for me?" Mario asked.

"Look, I know you don't like him very much," said the Toad sympathetically. "But it might be important! He said it had something to do with Spirit Stars or something."

"What?" Suddenly, Merlon didn't seem all that bad. "Maybe I should talk to him."

"Where is he?" Goombario asked.

"Oh, he lives in the house with the spinning roof," the Toad said, pointing closer to the town's front gate. In the street block, there stood a circular house that looked more like a blue tent. On the top of the house was a spinning platform. Nobody really understood how or why it spun. Some just figured it was another one of Merlon's gimmicks.

So Mario and Goombario walked down the block to Merlon's house. When Mario knocked on the door, a voice from inside said, "Merlon is out!" Mario and Goombario exchanged glances for a moment. Then, Mario tried knocking again. "Why do you keep on knocking?" the voice said again. "I'm telling you! He's out!" Suddenly, the door swung open so fast, it smacked head on into Mario, knocking him right into the ground.

An old man in a thick, blue cloak crept out of the house. When he noticed Mario, he said, "Why is some geezer taking a nap in front of my house?"

Mario stood back up, rubbing his now smashed nose. He looked up at the old man. The blue cloak surrounded his entire body, including his head. All that was visible was a large mustache and two beady eyes. "Wait," said Merlon, staring at Mario's face. "That face looks very familiar to me… Maybe… no it can't be. But you must be! But maybe not… You might—"

"Yes! I'm Mario," Mario said impatiently.

"Hmph! Well, you should have come sooner, and I might've been sure! Come on in. I have something important to tell you." Mario and Goombario walked inside the house. The inside was set up even stranger than the outside. The ceiling didn't spin with the roof of the house, but a crystal ball dangling from it spun around, casting strange glowing lights all over the walls. On the floor in the middle of the tent was another smaller crystal ball on a short pedestal. In the corner was a strange little Toad with red spots and a dark head.

"Who's he?" Goombario asked.

"Oh, don't mind him. He just volunteered to help me around a few weeks ago. You know, cleaning out the cobwebs and such."

The little Toad turned his head shyly around and quickly turned back to his wall. Merlon strode to other side of the pedestal and turned around. "So, where to start?" Clearing his throat he continued, "My name is Merlon. I'm a wizard. I have valuable information concerning the Star Spirits."

Mario's hopes began to rise. "You know where they are?"

"Hold your horses," Merlon said. "One piece of information at a time. Good info cannot be rushed, lest it lose its value. Now, I shall start from the beginning."

_Great_, thought Mario. "Now, it started a few days ago, when you had been reported missing along with the others. I was at the Summit collecting star dust to add to my delicious garlic anchovy recipe. But suddenly, I was blinded by an amazing light, and before me there was this magnificent… Well, I couldn't even really describe it. It was so… Oh, you had to be there. Well anyway, this… well, he said to me… What did he say? I was so awestruck by his… Well, you probably understand. It had something to do with… Um…"

Well, as you can imagine, this went on for a pretty long time. So, let's skip ahead a bit…

(2 hours later) "And that's how I found out what I needed to tell you. So, I called you here, and…" He glanced at Mario, who by now had fallen fast asleep. "Hey! Mario! Aren't you listening?" Mario woke up and hastily nodded his head. "Anyhow, I've learned that the Star Spirits are in grave danger, and you must try to rescue them!"

Mario's patience ran thin. "I know that! I need to know where they are."

"Oh, well unfortunately, I know not where to find them."

Fire flared up in Mario's eyes. "You mean you brought me all the way over here just to tell me something I already knew!?"

"Patience! Patience! Sheesh. Young folk these days… Don't know when to shut their traps. I do not know precisely where they are, but I do know how to set you on the right path. The vision I spoke of earlier (assuming you were even listening) told me that you must first travel east of here on the Pleasant Path." Mario's anger subsided. Perhaps this would be useful after all.

"Wait!" said the Toad in the corner. "Not Pleasant Path! Are you trying to get Mario killed?" Mario and Goombario were quite surprised to see the little Toad running his mouth. They'd just assumed he was mute… or a monk or something.

"Whatever do you mean?" asked Merlon, equally surprised.

"It's, uh… dangerous over there! Yeah, you know, we haven't even heard from the village down the road yet. You never know what might've happened to them!"

"Oh, hodgepodge! Do you think it's called Pleasant Path just to attract helpless ignorant individuals and have them mugged?"

"…Yes."

"Bah! You speak nonsense! Begone with you!" The Toad burst out of the tent and stalked away. "Now, Mario. You must reach the end of this path. I know not what waits at the end, but I know that it is vital to your adventure. Good luck to you."

Mario left the tent, quite gratefully, and went towards the east end of Toad Town. He had always known where Pleasant Path was, but he had never actually been there before. As he walked by, he noticed the red Toad talking with three of his friends, who also bore the same odd, shady heads. When they noticed him, they nodded to each other and ran toward the town's exit.

"What's going on now?" Goombario asked.

"I don't know," said Mario. He walked over to the exit, but the Toads began to blockade him.

"Look, Mister," the red Toad said. "I don't want you getting hurt. It's too dangerous. Trust us. You don't want to go over there."

"Yeah, see?" the one with black spots said. "The things you've seen before are small-time compared to what's out there. You don't even want to know."

"And hey," said the yellow-spotted Toad, "Don't you even think about asking Merlon for help. That'd be really bad news for you!"

"Yeah," said the green-spotted Toad. "You know, even if Merlon could blow right through us and let you go out there, it's a really bad—Ouch!" The red-spotted Toad had just whacked him over the side of head.

"Didn't we tell you not to talk?" he said.

"Well, yeah. But you guys all got to say something. I thought I should get to—Ow! Stop that!"

"Mario, let's just shove these guys off!" said Goombario. "They're not so tough!"

Mario didn't really like the concept of beating up Toads in Toad Town. Somehow, that probably wouldn't end well. "I've got a better idea." He and Goombario walked back down to Merlon's tent.

Merlon came out just as Mario had come up to the door. "I can't believe it!" he shouted furiously. "That blasted Toad missed a spot! Oh, when I get my hands—"

"Merlon!" said Mario, catching his attention.

"Oh! Yes, what is it?"

Mario hesitated a moment and then thought he might just let this play out. "Your servant's over by the east gate."

"Really. Well, I'll show him a thing or two!" With that, Merlon waddled down to the east gate where the red Toad and his "posse" were hanging out.

"What's the meaning of this?" Merlon asked.

"You asked that old man for help, anyway?" said the yellow Toad. "Man, that's weak!"

"Why are you talking like that?" asked Merlon.

"Like what, fool? I'm talkin' normal. What's your beef?"

"Yeah, what gives, see?" said Black. "Ask anyone, we're just, uh… cute Toads hangin' around the alley. Nothin' suspicious there, right?"

"You're not real Toads, are you?" said Merlon. "Alright, let's see who you really are." He closed his beady little eyes in deep concentration. Suddenly, a flash of light burst right where the Toads had been standing. When everything cleared up, there stood not four strange-looking Toads, but four stranger-looking Koopas… with colored headbands!

"Dang it!" said the red one. "I can't believe it! You guys are the worst spies ever! No wonder I do all the undercover stuff myself."

"Can't blame us for trying, Red," said the yellow Koopa.

"Red?" said Merlon. "Wait, I know who you are now. You're the Koopa Bros.!"

The red Koopa turned around and faced Merlon. "Yeah, that's right. We're the Koopa Bros., the coolest Koopas on this side of Pleasant Path. And you've made a terrible mistake, old man. We've got direct orders from Bowser himself to guard this path, and that's exactly what we're going to do."

"Hey, Red," said Black. "How's about we take these guys down right here, see? They're just askin' for trouble."

"Did I say you could talk?" said Red. "We're not attacking them now, not with all these people around. We'll wait for the home-field advantage." He turned to Mario. "But be prepared, Mario. We'll be waiting. Black! Yellow! Green! We retreat!"

Green looked up. "You mean we're going back to the secret fortress? Ow! Hey! What'd I do?" And with that, the Koopa Bros. sped off.

"So my servant was that mischievous Red Koopa after all…"

"Who are they supposed to be?" Mario asked.

"Those were none other than the notorious Koopa Bros. I had a feeling it was him, but I couldn't imagine why he'd be spying on me. I hadn't suspected they'd turn back to Bowser. Something big must be in it for them. But nonetheless, this is most definitely the path you must take. The only thing that troubles me is that I have not heard word from the Koopa Village down the road. Perhaps the Red Koopa was right when he said there were dangers on this path. Keep your eyes open for trouble. And so, I must bid you farewell." Merlon bowed his head and then wandered back toward his tent. Mario and Goombario walked through the town's exit toward Pleasant Path.

The path didn't seem all that dangerous. In fact, it was quite… well, pleasant. A few trees and shrubs sprung up near the path, which was oddly well-kept. A couple Koopas had been patrolling the area, but Mario and Goombario easily flipped them over and sent them off. After about twenty minutes of walking, the duo came across a fork in the road. Between the split-off was a sign that said:

West: Toad Town, South: Koopa Village, East:

The rest of the sign was scribbled out and replaced with the words "Nothing suspicious".

"Um, Mario," said Goombario, "since when is the path black, fuzzy, and moving?"

"Since never, why?" said Mario.

"Just wondering, because I think I'm BEING ATTACKED BY FUZZIES!" Mario looked behind him to see that Goombario was being carried away by a huge group of Fuzzies. Goombario was struggling and trying to jump out, but the Fuzzies overwhelmed him and carried him off towards Koopa Village. Mario chased them down, trying to get a hold of Goombario, but he was surrounded, too. Just as Goombario was starting to get out of sight, Mario remembered the wooden hammer that Goompa had given him. Taking it out, he gave a mighty swing at the surrounding Fuzzies, sending them flying to Timbuktu or some other far-away country. The other Fuzzies backed off and followed the rest of the mob towards the village.

By the time Mario made it into the village, he had already lost track of Goombario. He quickly looked around for any sign of black, fuzzy ground. He then realized that the entire village was covered with black Fuzzies. "Goombario!" he shouted, but there was no answer. In fact, the whole town seemed deserted. They all must have been hiding.

Mario looked around a little more until he heard some scuffling in one of the houses. He knocked on the door of the house. The door opened, revealing two shy eyes peeking out at him. "Um, could you please wait one second?" he said.

"I was just wondering if you've seen a little Goomba about as high as… a Goomba and wears a hat?"

"Yes, he was being carried away by Fuzzies. They came through my house and stole my shell!"

"Where did they go?"

"Through the back yard. Just a second." The door opened, revealing a shell-less and somewhat embarrassed Koopa. "Listen. If you're going to look for them, could you get my shell back, too?"

"How did they manage to get your shell off of you?"

"Well, I tried to fight them off. I took out like two or three dozen, but then they overwhelmed me. There was nothing I could do!" _I'm sure_, thought Mario. "I'm not even sure what these Fuzzies want. They just started tormenting the village for some reason." Mario wasn't too surprised. That was typical of Fuzzies. They're all just stupid, idiotic fuzzballs who like to cause mischief, after all.

"Well, I'll help you out," he said. "Which way did they go?"

"Uh, they went that way," the Koopa said, pointing out the back door. "Straight down the path."

So Mario ran out and went into the back field and followed the oddly convenient path to a dead end. Goombario was tied up by one of the trees and had a tight cloth over his mouth. "Goombario!"

"Hmm hmm mmhmm!" said Goombario.

"What?"

"Hmm hmm mmhmm!" Mario untied the cloth.

"What did you say?"

"I said 'Hmm hmm mmhmm!" said Goombario. "Oh, and watch out, they were going to use me as a bowling pin!" Mario looked behind him. In the middle of the field was a group of four Fuzzies using a catapult to shoot a blue shell.

"They still have the shell!" Fortunately, the Fuzzies had really bad aim. So when they shot the shell, it didn't fly anywhere near Mario. Wait a second. It's coming right for… THUD! Ow! That hurt. Hey, I'm not supposed to be in the story! So don't try to hit me!

"Sorry," the Fuzzies said. Well, now, that's more like it.

"Wait," said Goombario, "you guys can talk?"

"Of course," said the Fuzzy. "We're not just stupid idiotic fuzz balls who like to cause mischief!" Ahem… That didn't just happen.

"Wow, that's interesting. So, is there anything else you can do?"

The Fuzzies shared amused glances with each other. If there was one thing they liked to do most, it was showing off. "Well, we can do this." Three of the Fuzzies hopped on their leader, who started juggling them around in a loop. This was testing Mario's patience, but Goombario seemed pretty impressed.

"Wow, do something else."

"Can we get on with this?" said Mario.

"What?" the Fuzzies' leader said, dropping his comrades. "Oh, the shell, of course. You want it?"

"Yes! Now, hand it over!"

"Well, we would, but we don't have it anymore."

"What do you mean? I saw it with you a few moments ago."

"We flung it at the narrator."

"Oh, yeah, well I'm sure he'll give it back."

Hmm, should I give it back or shouldn't I? Ah, what the heck, I'll do it.

"Wait!" said the Fuzzy. "If you give it to me, I'll give you ten bucks!" Hmm, sounds pretty interesting.

"If you give it to me," said Mario, "I'll give you twenty bucks!" Hmm, looks like an auction.

"Ooh, I'll be the auctioneer!" said Goombario, always eager for an excuse to talk loudly. "Twenty dollars, twenty dollars. Do I hear twenty five?"

"Thirty dollars!"

"Thirty dollars for the Fuzzies! Thirty-five dollars? Do I hear thirty-five dollars? Going once, twice…"

"Fifty dollars!"

"Fifty dollars to Mario! Do I hear fifty-five?"

"If you don't give it to me, I'll tell everyone where you really were last summer!" Oh, dear. I didn't think anyone knew about that...

"Blackmail! We have blackmail. Anyone got more dirt? Anything else? No? Going once... twice... sold to the Fuzzies!" Oh, well I guess I have no choice.

SORRY FOR YET ANOTHER INTERRUPTION, BUT IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION THAT THE NARRATOR HAS BEEN PROMOTING THE CONCEPT OF GAMBLING AND BLACKMAIL OVER A BLUE SHELL. AS YOU ARE WELL AWARE, THIS VIOLATES SECTION 16.5 PARAGRAPH B OF THE CENSOR COMPANY LIMITATIONS LICENSING, AND WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ARREST THE AUTHOR FOR THESE ACTIONS.

"Better idea," said Goombario. "How would you like to trade in the shell for a chance at beating up the Censor Company?"

The Fuzzy considered this for a moment. "Hmm... Fair enough." said the Fuzzy. He gave away the shell to Mario and led the others to create and angry mob. "Let's go, boys!"

WAIT! WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO PLACE YOU UNDER… OW! GET OFF OF ME! AAHHH! CALL THE POLICE! CALL THE DOCTOR! CALL MY MOMMY!

Whew! I'm glad that's over. So where were we? Oh, yes! Mario now had the blue shell, which stood out from all the red and green ones he'd seen recently.

Before he got back, the shell-less Koopa came to him. "I've decided to take a stand against these Fuzzies," he said. "I don't care if I don't have my shell! I'll show them what's what!"

Then, Goombario said, "We already got your shell back."

Mario gave the Koopa his shell, who put it back over his body and exclaimed, "Thank you! My shell and I are back! Yeah!" After taking a closer look at Mario, he added, "Wait a second. Now I recognize you. You're Mario!"

"It took you that long to find out?"

"Small attention span. Hey! Have you met my next door neighbor yet?"

"…No," said Mario. "What about him?"

"His name is Kolorado. He's an archaeologist, one of the most famous Koopas in the history of… Koopadom."

"Wait," said Goombario, "Kolorado? I've heard of him!"

"Yeah, I want to be like him when I get older."

"I remember him as that snobby Koopa who was always dramatic and ticked his wife off all too often by going on his adventures."

"What!? You mean you don't want to be like him?"

"Of course not. I want to be like Mario when I grow up."

"Mario? Come on! He only goes on adventures when he has to! He never takes risk unless it seems necessary! Kolorado, on the other hand, always looks for a daring opportunity, traveling to the unknown!"

"Yeah, sounds like an idiot to me. And at least Mario doesn't tick his wife off!"

"That's because he doesn't even have a wife! He lives with his brother! What kind of adventurer would live with his brother!?"

"Well,… well, Kolorado… Okay, you've got me there, but if you want to be like Kolorado so much, why don't you ask him if you could join him on his adventures? He lives right next door."

"What! You can't just go up to someone as great as Kolorado and ask him something like that! I need experience first! And besides, he's not home right now. He went off on an expedition a few days back. But until then, I need to have an adventure of my own… So, maybe I could join you guys on whatever you're doing! Do you mind?"

Mario said, "Mind? Putting you two in the same group? You guys wasted almost a whole page of this story arguing about who's better! If you two were to join me, then this story would never end! Sorry, but I can't let both of you come. I guess you're on your own for this one." So, Mario and Goombario left on their way to the fortress.

"Well, fine. I'll find my own adventures. You'll see! I'll be famous someday!"

Mario and Goombario went back through the village. Now that the Fuzzies were off tearing the Censor Company limb from limb (…Whew. Yep, I can say that now), the Koopa Village was completely rid of the infestation. Koopas began coming outside for the first time in weeks, celebrating the miraculous extermination.

Mario and Goombario didn't have any more time for hellos, however. So, they quickly left the village and went north back to the sign, looping to the right toward the Koopa Bros. Fortress. "I'm glad that's over," said Goombario, as the village faded out of sight. "Man, that guy's a little melodramatic. He needs to chill out!"

"Yes, but I know what he wants," said Mario. "He just has that urge for adventure."

As they talked, they came up to a nearby sign:

Mario,

No trespassing.

Yours truly,

The Koopa Bros.

"Seriously!" said Mario, "you think that will stop me!?"

"Um, Mario, I'd be careful if I were you."

"What's there to worry about?" said Mario as he continued on.

"But, Mario, I…" then Goombario fell through a hole in the ground.

Mario, not noticing Goombario's fall, said, "Don't worry. I've always heard the Koopa Bros. are idiots."

Goombario climbed out of the pit, covered in prickly thorns. "But, Mario…" Then a giant wooden log suspended by ropes swung down and knocked Goombario into another pit of prickly thorns.

Mario, still not noticing Goombario's situation, said, "The Koopa Bros. couldn't set a trap if their lives depended on it."

Goombario climbed out of the other pit. "Mario, just listen to…" Then a group of rabid dogs started chasing him.

"Goombario would you just quit barking at me about it? There are no traps, okay?" Goombario climbed up toward Mario, now beaten to a pulp. Mario came up to a little rope with a sign that said, "Pull here for the princess," and there was a little X under the rope.

"See?" said Mario. "Come here for a moment." Goombario reluctantly obeyed, crawling over to Mario. Mario walked on top of the X. "I'll show you just how bad they are," he said, pulling the rope. The rope went straight up into the air, and a few seconds later, a five-ton block came crashing down. Instead of landing on the X, however, it landed a couple feet away where Goombario was standing. "See what I mean?" Mario asked. "They can't even aim for the X!"

After a few seconds, Goombario climbed out from under the block. "Um, Mario?" he said. "How about I sit out for this one?"

"Suit yourself." So, Mario continued on to the fortress.

He walked up to the forefront of the fortress. It was a huge stone tower, almost as large as Peach's castle. There was no telling what waited for him inside. There was no turning back now. Taking a deep breath, Mario walked toward the front gate, only to be stopped by the Yellow Koopa, who had taken this opportunity to come outside. "Uh-oh," he said. "The traps didn't work! Man, that's whack! We're in da heat now. I better tell the boss. YO! RED KOOPA!" Mario chased the Koopa into the front gate. This must've been the hideout. Perhaps the first Star Spirit was here after all.

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**Will Mario be able to find the Star Spirit? Will Kooper find his great adventure? And what does "Da heat" have anything to do with anything?**﻿﻿﻿﻿ **Find out in the next exciting installment of Paper Mario!**

**PS: For all you fans of Kooper, don't worry! He will return in the very next chapter. I'm taking a couple liberties on this part, but the excitement is just beginning. Stay tuned!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Sorry for the late post. Work's kinda been getting in the way, but the 6th Chapter is up! Mario is just about to enter the fortress, and Kooper is trying to think of an adventure good enough to please the great Kolorado! What will happen? Read and find out!**

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**Chapter 6**

**Storming the Koopa Bros.'s Fortress**

Running, through the gate, Mario quickly lost track of the yellow Koopa, as darkness quickly enveloped the room. Waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, Mario managed to make out some sort of pool at the end of the room with two Koopas bathing in it. "Why is there a pool inside the fortress?" he wondered aloud. The Koopas heard him and looked around.

"Who was that?" one asked.

"Probably Mario," said the other.

"Should we attack him?"

"Nah, let's wait until I'm squeaky clean."

"But if you fight him afterwards, you'll have to waste more work time bathing again."

"Exactly." The Koopas snickered and ignored Mario as he went on... and on… and on. Everything about the fortress seemed exactly the same in every room. Other than the pool at the entrance, nothing stood out.

"Hm," Mario thought, "this place is confusing. How will I ever find my way through here?" Walking around for a bit, he eventually bumped into another Koopa. He could make out a green band of cloth around the Koopa's head and immediately recognized him.

"Yikes!" shrieked the green-banded Koopa. "Wh-who are you?"

"I'm… Red," said Mario, thinking quickly. "Don't you remember me, you idiot?"

"Oh! Sorry. It's hard to tell who's who anymore. We all look the same!"

"Um, yeah, well could you maybe show me where the Star Spirit is?"

"You mean you don't remember?"

"Uh… You're the one who hid it, dummy."

"I am?" Mario, remembering their last encounter, smacked the Koopa over the head. "You mean YOU lost it?"

"Ow! Oh, yeah! I remember now. Okay, follow me!" That's the thing about most Koopas. Red ones are smart and evil. Green ones were dumb and evil. Then there are all the colors in between. Speaking of which, let's check in on our eager blue friend.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Back at Koopa Village, the blue-shelled Koopa was still pacing back and forth in front of his house. "What should I do?" he thought. "I need an adventure to prove I can travel with Kolorado…." A few houses down, a blue Bob-omb started sneaking slowly outside, checking around the corners of the doorway.

"Whew," said the Bob-omb, "I'm glad that Fuzzy deal is over. Everything's turning out great… except for her." Then he noticed the Koopa. "Hi, you come out to enjoy the fresh air, too?"

"No," said the Koopa, "I came out to think."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess it's a good time to think about stuff. Well what's your name?"

"Kooper."

"Hi, Kooper. My name's Bruce. What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking of a good adventure I can have to prove myself worthy of joining Kolorado's expedition crew."

"Oh, that's nice." The Bob-omb slowly began to walk away. Then he suddenly stood up straight and turned around. "Wait!" he said. "Maybe you can help me!"

"What do you need help with?"

"A while ago, I was a worker at the Koopa Bros. Fortress. I was happy there, especially with… her there. But one day, a band of Koopas came and took control of the whole place. They forced us to work so hard that we could barely walk by the end of the day! We couldn't stand it any longer, so she stood up for us."

"Who's she?"

"Bombette, my love! My only reason for living. My true happiness! My…"

"Alright, I get it. So, what happened?"

"She couldn't stand seeing her friends hurt. So she stood up in front of the Koopa Bros., the leaders of the Koopas. She exploded right next to them and was sent to prison afterwards along with a group of others, but I was able to escape. Oh, if only I had been there! Now my love and I may never see each other again!… Unless, maybe you could try to save her."

"Me?"

"Yes, you wanted an adventure. Help a fellow out, would you? The fortress is just east of Koopa Village."

"Well, okay. Why don't you join me and help me out?"

"Are you kidding!? They'll throw me in prison the moment I get there! Good luck, though."

So, off the Koopa went, on his very first adventure. He went up to the same sign Mario had recently passed:

Mario,

No trespassing.

Yours Truly,

The Koopa Bros.

Kooper looked around to see a bunch of pitfalls, a wooden log suspended by ropes, and three rabid dogs asleep on the ground. "I wonder what kind of idiot would fall for these hopeless traps?" He went a little further until he found Goombario asleep by a five-ton block. "Hey! It's that Goomba that hangs out with Mario!" Goombario woke up and noticed Kooper.

"Hey!" he said, "what are you doing here?"

"I was going to ask the same thing."

"I…uh, fell into a couple of death traps. So Mario went inside the fortress alone."

"Why did you two even go to the fortress? Do you have any idea what they'd do if they found you?"

"Well, it's kind of a long story. We're trying to rescue these Star Spirits, and a fortune-teller said we should look here."

"Pfft! A fortune teller? Please! Well, I actually came here for a good reason. I'm trying to free the rebellious Bob-ombs from imprisonment."

"Bob-ombs? I didn't know anything about that. Well, then, I guess you've found your 'adventure'?"

"Yeah, but I won't let Mario take care of it first. I better get in there!" Suddenly, a band of Koopas and Bob-ombs marched out of the front gate. Spotting the two intruders, they immediately began to surround them.

"Halt!" one of the Koopas said. "Who are you two?"

"…I'm Kooper," said Kooper, wondering what to do next.

Goombario, however, thought quickly and had an idea. "And I'm Goom…paul. We came to ambush Mario, but I fell for the traps." Goombario gestured toward the giant block behind him.

Kooper, who hadn't caught on to the plan yet, said, "You mean you were bluffing?" he said. "You aren't really his fan?" The guards looked at them in concern.

Goombario stared at Kooper menacingly. "Of course not," he stressed in gritted teeth. "It was all a hoax to get him to join me so I could lure him over here. Like a Goomba would ever join Mario. Ha!"

Kooper still hadn't caught up with the plan. "Well, then you probably didn't know this. I'm one of the Koopas who rebelled from Bowser's army. I came here to free the rebellious Bob-ombs from imprison…ment." It was about this time Kooper realized what was going on. "You planned that through, didn't you?"

"Arrest them," said one of the Koopas. Quickly, Kooper withdrew into his shell, spun really fast and shot off away from the crowd. The Koopas and Bob-ombs started attacking Goombario.

"Help!" Goombario shouted. Kooper hesitated for a moment, looking back at the mob.

_No,_ he thought. _I've got my own thing. It's too risky to save him._ "But taking risks," he thought out loud, "is exactly what I came here to do. That's just what Kolorado would do." At that, he stepped back and faced the attackers. "I have to do it, despite the cost." So, Kooper slipped into his shell, spun around, and shot at Goombario. He took Goombario up on his shell, swerved around, and shot back toward the fortress.

"Get them!" one of the Koopas shouted, but Kooper was too quick for them. Gaining speed, he and Goombario flew right into the fortress, passing right by the bathing Koopas. Getting up from Kooper's shell, Goombario reluctantly said, "Thanks for that."

"Don't mention it. I think we lost them."

Goombario began to wobble around, checking his bruises from earlier. "Hm. I seem to be feeling much better now."

"Should we try to find those prisoners?"

Goombario searched the room for a bit but couldn't find any sign of Mario. "I guess so. I think Mario's got the Star Spirit handled."

So, the two new companions searched through the fortress, looking for any sign of the Bob-ombs, but there were none to be found. As with Mario's dilemma, they soon became lost within the maze of the fortress, each room looking no different from the last. Goombario could easily tell that Kooper had no idea where he was going, but of course, Kooper refused to admit it.

"Hey!" Goombario said. "That pillar looks familiar."

"Look, I'm not lost! We're going the right way. It's just taking a really long time!"

"Dude," said Goombario, "all of the pillars here look exactly the same. So, you basically could've said 'We're completely lost, and you probably know it, but I'm going to try to lie to you anyway.'"

"Oh, real clever," Kooper retorted. "Look, rubbing it in isn't going to help, so why don't you use your brain for once and help us out?"

"What's that supposed to… Wait, you want me to help?"

Kooper looked indignant. "Well, yeah. That's what partners are for, right?"

Goombario was taken aback. Nobody had ever really asked him for help before. "Well… sure. Um, well judging by the outside of the fortress and the direction we've been going, I'd say we're about near the right side of the fortress. If there's a prison somewhere, it'll probably be down below where there's no light. So we should look for a staircase."

"Pretty good," the Koopa replied, amused. "Not bad for a Goomba. You might be fit for a yellow shell."

"…Uh, what's that mean?"

"Oh, sorry. It's a Koopa term. The color of your shell tells how smart you are. Why else do you think the green ones would be dumb?"

"Wow. I didn't know that about Koopas."

"And I never knew that Goombas can be crushed just by being jumped on."

"Then how were you able to tell me?"

"Hm, I don't know that, either."

So, for the time they had been lost—two hours or ten, they weren't quite sure—Goombario and Kooper talked all through their search, getting to know each other a little bit more. Goombario explained to Kooper how he found Mario and what they had set out to do. Kooper talked more about his ambition to become a great adventurer and perhaps work side by side with the great Kolorado. Each one listened intently to the other, and they were actually starting to become friends.

Well, after a little while, they finally came across a flight of stairs leading down. "This must be it!" said Kooper. He and Goombario climbed down into the bottom floor. It was much darker there, and the two companions supported each other to make their way through without hitting any walls.

Eventually, they came across a barred wall. On the other side, they could make out a few balls of color. "Those must be the Bob-ombs," said Goombario.

Kooper came up to them and saw a pink, apparently mad Bob-omb. Remembering Bruce's words, he recognized her immediately. It must've been Bombette. "Hey!" he said. "We've come to get you out…"

"Now!" said Bombette. Then two of the Bob-ombs came up to him and exploded right in their faces.

"…of here," Goombario finished, now dazed.

"Get the keys!" said Bombette.

"There are no keys!" said the Bob-omb. "They weren't the jail guards."

"Of course not!" said Goombario as he was pulling himself together. "We came to get you guys out of here!"

"Wait," said Bombette, "you came to save us? That's great! …But how did you know we were here?"

"A Bob-omb asked me to help you guys," said Kooper. "What was his name again? I think it was Bruce."

"Bruce?" said Bombette. "Um, come to think of it, I kind of like it in here."

"Aw, come on Bombette!" said one of the Bob-ombs. "Just because he clings to you like a lost puppy doesn't mean you should hide in here!"

"You don't know what it's like," she said. "I try to tell him it's over, but he never gives up. He's not even my type! What can I do to get that into his thick skull?"

"…We don't have skulls."

"You get the point! I never want to see him again!"

"You think that's worth staying in here?" Kooper asked. "How'd you guys get stuck in this place, anyway?"

"…I'm sure I heard something," came a voice from a different room. A door behind them opened up, and an enraged Koopa shouted, "There they are! Get them!" A mob of Koopas and Bob-ombs surrounded them.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Mario was following Green to the Star Spirit. "So, I hid it all along. I never would have suspected."

"That's right," said Mario. "You should know better than to forget something like that." Green continued walking up the passageway. At first, Mario wasn't too sure that this would work, but the stairways led continually up towards the top of the tower, until finally the last door opened to the roof of the fortress.

"It should be just through here," said Green, more to himself than to Mario. They walked all the way to the tower at the end of the fortress. It seemed like and hour before they got to the other side. _How big does a fortress have to be, anyway?_ Mario thought. "That should be it up ahead."

"Thank you."

Green looked up at him suspiciously. "Thank you?"

"…Uh, I mean…" Trying to save himself, Mario slapped him again.

"Ow!"

"Now stay here until I get back!"

"You got it, Boss!" With that, Mario opened the door into the fortress and crept inside. The light from the door spilled out into a small circular room with a large pit near the left side. At the other end was a pedestal, holding up a mysterious card. That had to be it; the Star Spirit's prison! _This is going to be easier than I thought_. No sooner did he think that than the door closed behind him, shrouding the room in complete darkness. Unable to see, Mario had no choice but to get to his knees and grope around. It seemed strange; the rest of the fortress hadn't been this dark.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out. "So, how do you like our fortress so far?"

Mario jumped up out of fright. "Who is that?"

"You really don't know?" Mario could hear the sound of footsteps. Quickly and quietly, he shuffled out of the way so that the Koopa could not see him. "Clever trick, getting Green to lead you up here. That was your plan, wasn't it?" Mario wouldn't answer. His only defense was stealth until his eyes could adjust to the dark. "Unfortunately, I had a feeling you'd come up with something like that. I've heard much from your travels, after all."

Looking up, Mario caught a glimpse of red; it was the Koopa's headband. He'd cornered him now. Jumping up, he bolted for the faint red glow, ready to tackle the Koopa.

_WHAP!_

Suddenly, he felt a blow to his right side as he was flung to his left. Red laughed maliciously. "Ah, so you've seen me. Well, don't get cocky. You're not as invisible as you'd like to think you are." Mario stumbled back to his feet, lightheaded from the unexpected blow. But he caught his sights on Red again and bolted toward him with full speed.

_WHAP!_

Again, something knocked him aside just before he reached Red. As soon as he hit the ground, he shuffled back to his feet, trying to find what had hit him, but there was nothing else there, just the faint red glow of Red's headband. "Fool you once, shame on me. But how many times are you going to make a fool of yourself, I wonder?"

Then Mario understood. Black must have been here. The darkness shrouded him, making him invisible to Mario's eyes. He had to find him somehow. But before he could even get up, Black hit him again, full force. Mario spun around on the ground, reeling from the attack. There was nothing he could do…

_Whap!_

Once more, Black managed to ram into him. Mario was blind to his moves, and now dazed by his attacks. He could barely get up anymore. Suddenly, he felt two hands grab him by the arms and start dragging him. Too weak to move, Mario tried vainly to fight out of the Koopa's grip.

"No point in fighting now, is there?" Red continued. "Too bad you didn't keep that cheeky little Goomba kid with you or perhaps this may have been a challenge."

_Goombario_, Mario thought. Perhaps going on without him was a bad idea. "Don't worry, though. You'll join them soon enough." The ground under Mario began to dip, and he realized that they had been dragging him to the pit. "Wait until Bowser sees this little surprise." As Red finished speaking, Black thrust Mario forward, and a rush of air flew past him as he fell down into the pit…

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**What waits for Mario at the bottom of the pit? What will become of Goombario and Kooper? And will they ever be able to rescue the Star Spirit? Find out in the next incredible chapter of Paper Mario!**

**Okay, so this chapter was a bit shorter than I usually make them. The next chapter will finish up the Koopa Bros. Fortress, so until then, R&R!**


	7. Chapter 7

**When we last left our hero, he had been plunging down into the pit of the fortress. Where will this trap take him? Read and see in Chapter 7!**

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**Chapter 7**

**Rebellion**

"I think he's waking up…" Voices surrounded Mario as he tried to open his eyes. His vision was blurred, and the room around him was dark. "Hey, Mario! Are you alright?" The voice sounded familiar, but Mario was too dazed to remember anything.

"I think he's okay. He's fallen a longer distance before." That voice he recognized as Goombario's. Sitting up, he could barely make out the mushroom-shaped kid. Next to him was a taller creature, probably a Koopa.

"Hey, wait a second. You're the Koopa we met before, aren't you?"

"I see you've remembered," the Koopa said. "Name's Kooper, by the way."

"What are you doing here?" After asking this, he looked around a bit. "And while I'm at it, where is 'here' anyway?"

"You're in the dungeon," came another voice, this one female. "You fell from the tower above us." Mario turned, trying to make out the shape of the person who was speaking. From what he could see, she was small, pink and round, a Bob-omb.

"Wait, is there any way out?"

"Not that I've found. We've been stuck in here for ages."

"Which is why I'm here," Kooper interjected. "I came to free them from their imprisonment!"

Mario looked up at Kooper and then glanced around the caged room. "That's going well, I see?"

Kooper grunted indignantly. "Well, I don't see you doing much better with the Koopa Bros." Mario opened his mouth to talk back, but he really had nothing to say to that. He'd failed again, and this time there was no one else to blame.

"Look, fighting won't get us anywhere!" said the Bob-omb. "In the end, we'll still be stuck in here."

That silenced all of them for a few moments, until Goombario decided to speak. "She's right. If we're going to get out of here, we need put everything aside and find out what's going on." After a moment's hesitation, the Bob-omb agreed. Kooper and Mario followed suit.

"So, maybe we should get to know each other and see what we can do?" the Bob-omb suggested. For the next few minutes, they each shared their story. The Bob-omb introduced herself as Bombette, telling her story about working at the fortress before the Koopa Bros. had shown up. Once the Koopas had moved in, Bob-ombs were worked like slaves. "Most of our friends have been brainwashed. They're working with the Koopas to keep the fortress guarded on Bowser's orders. I, for one, was not going to work under Bowser, so I gathered my closest friends stood up against them… but you can see how that turned out."

"Yeah," said another Bob-omb indignantly. "We all ended up in here."

"Well, it's better than being worked to the ground, isn't it?" she retorted. The Bob-omb grunted, apparently not sharing the same opinion. "I'm not even sure why they're working us so hard. There's nothing here. It was abandoned when we found it. We were just using it for shelter. But now, it seems like they're all trying to protect something."

This got Mario's attention. "Did they say anything about a Star Spirit?"

"A what? I don't know. What's that?" Mario explained what he had come to the fortress to do and that maybe the Koopa Bros. were hired by Bowser to protect one of these Star Spirits. As he was talking, a scream from above caught everyone's attention. Soon after the scream, there was a loud thud in the center of the cage, followed by another loud thud.

"Ah! Crud, Green! What's your beef!?"

"Oh, sorry, Yellow. I thought I heard Mario over here."

"So, you knock me upside da noggin and land us both in the clink? Weak!"

"Look, I'm sorry! Why do we even have a pit in our fortress anyway? Kind of dangerous."

Mario could just make out Yellow's features as he turned around to face the prisoners. "Hey! Powderheads! Keep your distance, you dig? Or this'll get messy." The Bob-ombs backed into a corner with Bombette. Yellow and Green had apparently not noticed Mario, Goombario or Kooper. If they did, they paid no attention.

A door outside the cage opened up. A Koopa and three Bob-ombs walked toward the cage. "Whoa! Boss. How did you get in there?"

"Does it look like I'm in the mood for rappin'? Pop the lock, Fool!" The Koopa quickly obeyed, fumbling around for his keys.

"Guys!" Bombette whispered. "This is our chance!" She looked hopefully at the other Bob-ombs, but none of them seemed willing to fight. "What are you waiting for?"

"It's the Koopa Bros.," one of them said. "We can't fight them. They'll beat us up."

"But we have Mario! We can't lose!"

"From what I heard, he lost too. I think I'm happier in this cage anyway."

Mario was done listening to this. He turned to Kooper and Goombario. "How about a little motivation?" he suggested. Goombario and Kooper nodded. As the door creaked open, they jumped into action. Mario took his hammer out and pelted Yellow over the head, knocking him forward. Goombario jumped up and knocked Green backwards onto his shell. Kooper withdrew into his shell and shot himself into the group of Bob-ombs. Each one exploded from the impact, temporarily flooding the room with light. Kooper bounced back and balanced himself upright.

Rubbing his head, Yellow stood back up, turning to Mario. "Mario? Here again? Well, I guess I'll have to take care of you myself." The other Koopa ran up to join his leader in the fight.

"Ahem…" Yellow looked behind Mario to see Bombette, joined with six or so other Bob-ombs, preparing for battle.

"Whoa… This ain't a scrap I'm getting' dirty over…" He turned to the other Koopa. "Take care of these little smoke balls, will ya? I've got, uh… Well, heck I'm just not stupid enough to stick around. Later!" With that, he left the underling Koopa to face Mario and the group of rebels…

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Whew, I never thought I'd leave that place!" said Bombette. They were all standing outside the cell, which now imprisoned Green, who was still unable to get up from the floor, and the red Koopa, who had voluntarily locked himself in. "Alright! Now we can settle the score with those Koopa Bros." The other Bob-ombs became awkwardly silent at this statement. "…What? What's wrong?"

One of the Bob-ombs spoke nervously, "Well, we've been stuck here awhile. Now that we're out, we should probably leave while we have the chance."

"Are you kidding?" Bombette shouted. "You're just going to give up after we've come this far? We can't let the Koopa Bros. get away with this, not now that we know what they're up to!"

"Well, it doesn't really concern us," said another Bob-omb. "I hear the Fuzzy infestation they sent off has left Koopa Village already. They're chasing some weirdoes in suits. It's probably safe to go there now."

Bombette practically shouted from frustration. "Koopa Village rebelled against Bowser. That's why they were in that mess in the first place! If this place stays the way it is, there won't be a Koopa Village before long!"

"Well, what can we do? You saw blue-boy take out all those guys in one hit!" Kooper stood up proudly. "If one Koopa could do that, what chance do we have against four?"

"Hey!" said Kooper. "We've got Mario on our side! Besides, we've already got one of 'em taken care of."

"Oh, yeah. You managed to take out the stupid one. Congratulations."

"Um, I'm still here," said Green.

"The point is," the Bob-omb continued, "we don't stand a chance against the Koopas. What can we possibly do?"

At this, Bombette walked up front so that she faced the whole group. "There's one thing we can do, a way we can ensure the safety of Pleasant Path and all its residents for years to come!"

Goombario smiled mischievously as Bombette spoke. "You thinking what I think you're thinking?" Bombette nodded her approval.

"What are you guys talking about?" asked Kooper.

"We're going to destroy the fortress!" she shouted out of excitement.

"WHAT!?" the Bob-ombs all shouted in unison. "How are we going to do that?" one of them asked. "This place is a… well, a fortress! Not exactly the weakest material in the world." Goombario's smile became wider. He had caught on to Bombette's plan. "What could we possibly do to bring this down?"

"The support beams," Bombette and Goombario said in unison. Bombette looked at Goombario in surprise. He continued, "That's it, right? We've got more than enough firepower to bring down the support beams. Then, the whole fortress'll collapse under its own weight."

Bombette smiled. "Not bad, kid."

"Pre-adolescent, thank you very much," he said indignantly.

"But there's probably a lot of guards at the weak points," Bombette continued. "We'll need to make a plan."

"Hold on!" said Mario. "I still need to find this Star Spirit. We can't blow up the fortress until we find it."

"Hm, that's true, too. But we don't have a lot of time. As soon as Yellow warns the others, this place'll be swarming with guards. We won't stand a chance then."

"I've got it!" said Goombario. "I think I know how we can do this…"

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Alright, is everyone set?" The mob formed two groups now. Goombario and Kooper were with the half dozen Bob-omb workers, while Mario and Bombette stood alone. "From what you guys said, your explosions should be plenty powerful enough to bring down the base."

"Hold on," said Mario. "Is that worth sacrificing all you guys?"

"Oh, don't worry, Mario," said Bombette. "It doesn't hurt us if we blow up on purpose."

Kooper thought about it. "How's that possible?"

"That's not important!" said one of the Bob-ombs. "We don't have much time. You two need to go get the Star Spirit! We'll finish the job when you give us the flare signal!"

"Mario, are you sure you guys can do this alone?" asked Goombario.

"We don't have a choice," said Bombette. "You guys have to help defend the Bob-ombs. That's crucial! If all else fails, we have to destroy the fortress."

"You really know your strategies," said Goombario.

"I've waited too long for this. Now, get going! There's not much time!" Goombario and Kooper nodded, ready for action. Bombette turned to Mario. "Alright, enough standing around. I've got a score to settle. Let's go!" So the two groups headed off. The Bob-omb squad led the way down to the lower levels, where the base of the support beams lay. Bombette led the way up the stairs to the top of the fortress, where the remaining Koopa Bros. were hiding.

"What do you know about these Koopa Bros.?" Mario asked, as they climbed up.

"Not much," said Bombette, who seemed to have a lot of energy for one who had to hop up each stair. "I know they used to live in Koopa Village like the other rebels."

"Rebels?"

"Well, there were a lot of Koopas who didn't want to follow Bowser's scheme anymore. They ran away and took refuge near Pleasant Path, kind of like what we did with the fortress. That's how Koopa Village started. The Koopa Bros. were just three ordinary brothers who lived around the village from what I've heard… except Red. Nobody remembers ever seeing him there. I think he must have recruited them or something." They neared the top of the stair to the door that Green had led them through. "Whatever the reason, they're enemies now. And they have to be stopped, for everyone's sake." As she finished talking, they finally came up to the top of the fortress. It was just a long walk to the final spot. Hopefully, this was where the Star Spirit was still hidden.

There was something black near the entrance to the tower that hadn't been there before. Suddenly, Yellow, Black and Red burst out of the tower. Yellow and Black manned the black objects, which Mario now recognized as Bill Blasters!

"Look out!" he shouted as the Koopas fired two Bullet Bills at Mario and Bombette. The two heroes instantly hit the ground, and the speeding bullets flew directly over them.

"Mario!" Red's distant voice echoed across the bridge. "You want that Star Spirit? Come and get it!" He reached up his hand in a tight fist. It was hard to focus, but Mario could just make out a small card in his hand. Was that the Star Spirit? Before he could determine that, Red, put the card back inside his shell. "OPEN FIRE!" he shouted. Black and Yellow fired two more rounds, forcing Mario and Bombette to duck for cover.

"Now what?" asked Bombette.

Mario waited for one of the Bullet Bills to come close. Getting to his feet, he leapt up into the air and jumped on top of the Bullet Bill. It gasped and collapsed, lying uselessly on the ground. "Just stay behind me!" he shouted. With Bombette following close behind, Mario charged across the bridge, jumping down on the Bills as they passed by. In no time at all, they made it to the Bill Blasters. The Koopas, taken off guard by Mario's sudden arrival, panicked and retreated back into the tower to regroup.

Mario and Bombette looked on after them at the closing door. "This is it," Bombette stated determinedly. "Are you ready?" Mario nodded, as ready as he was going to be. He thought about the princess, what she must have been doing. He remembered Twink's words. This was his reason for fighting. Now, he had to beat them. Together, he and Bombette opened the doors and stepped inside.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"You guys ready?" The Bob-ombs nodded their approval. They had all found their way under the foundation of the fortress, where four support beams held the floor together. Three pairs of Bob-ombs were positioned next to three of the beams. "This should be plenty powerful. It'll at least take out one of the towers," Goombario continued. "Kooper! How's the tunnel going?"

"We just reached the river!" Kooper shouted. "We should be able to get out of here once we blow it!" Kooper trooped back inside.

"Perfect! You two…" He looked at the two Bob-ombs. "Go outside and check for the flare. Tell us when you see it!" The Bob-ombs nodded and headed out through the tunnel.

No sooner had they come out than the door behind all of them opened up. "Hey! What're you guys doing out of your posts? No one's allowed back…" He spotted Goombario and Kooper and stopped in shock. Quickly, he ran back towards the door.

"Stop him!" Kooper instantly withdrew into his shell and catapulted himself at the Koopa, tripping him from behind. As the Koopa got stuck on its back, Goombario jumped up to Headbonk it, finishing it off. "That was close."

"INTRUDERS!" someone shouted from above. Suddenly, the heavy sound of marching filled the ceiling of the tower.

"Here it comes," said Goombario. "You guys stay safe. Kooper and I'll take these guys out."

Kooper nodded nervously. "Gulp… I guess this is what it means to have an adventure."

"Just keep focused…" They waited for what seemed like hours. The marching grew louder and louder until it seemed they were right on top of them. Soon, the door burst open, and a swarm of Bob-ombs marched out, led by a trio of Koopas. "Now, Kooper!" Kooper spun forward, knocking the Bob-ombs off their feet. Goombario jumped up on top of one of the Koopas, knocking him back. One of the other Koopas withdrew into his shell and smashed into Goombario, knocking him to the side. The other Koopa did the same to Kooper. Two of the Bob-ombs became angry and lit their fuses. Kooper was too preoccupied with the other Koopa to notice. Goombario managed to toppled the Koopa over while Kooper finished him off. The two angry Bob-ombs ambushed Kooper and exploded in his face, knocking him into the other wall. The room shook violently from the explosion as Kooper flew headfirst into the wall and fell forward unconscious.

"KOOPER!" Goombario shouted. The other Bob-ombs now became occupied with Goombario and the rebel Bob-ombs. Goombario managed to headbonk one of them, knocking it out, but the mob of Bob-ombs continued to come through the door.

"Come on, guys!" one of Bombette's friends shouted. "We have to help!" The Bob-ombs lined up, ready to fight with Goombario. But Goombario was still nervous. They were largely outnumbered, and their best fighter was out cold. He hoped that Mario and Bombette would give out the signal soon.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The doors closed and yet again, Mario was surrounded by darkness. Being unable to see made him wonder if he could possibly win this, even with Bombette. _Just stick with the plan_, he thought. Soon, they started hearing voices.

"You guys got into a scrap without me? If you'd told me that, I woulda known Mario was in there, Red!"

"Right. So you were blind, see? Couldn't see what was right in front of ya, huh? Numb-shell?"

"Shut up, Black! You don't know diddly-squat. It was Green's beef that landed me in that sitch. Take it out on him!"

"Yeah, guess who's not here now, see? You just leavin' him for the buzzards? Leavin' the gun and takin' the canolies, eh?"

"…What does that even mean!?"

"Beats me. Saw it in a movie once."

"Would you two shut up?" Red shouted over them. "Look, you guys aren't acting cool at all! Mario and that pink little pom-pom will be here any second, so get ready!"

"Who're you calling a pom-pom?" Bombette shouted out. There were some hurried voices and then a short silence.

"So, you've come this far, huh?" Red stated calmly. "You must be a glutton for punishment if you're coming back for more. You're gonna pay for releasing our prisoners."

"Yeah," said Black. "Ya couldn't beat us before, so you had to get some reinforcements, eh? You just can't play fair, can ya?"

"What are you talking about?" said Bombette. "You outnumber us, and we'll still kick your butts!"

"Black, you got served," said Yellow.

"Hey, I'm a Ninjakoopa, not a rocket scientist."

"Enough talking, already!" shouted Red, obviously annoyed. "Get into position!"

The Koopas shuffled in random directions. Mario took this opportunity to find one of them before they stopped making noise. Taking out his hammer, he ran toward one of the noises and, when he thought he was close enough, swung his hammer at full speed. It wasn't a direct hit, but he managed to slice one of the Koopas, spinning him around and knocking him forward.

"Ah, man! Cheap shot!" shouted Yellow.

Suddenly, Mario was hit yet again from the side, probably by Black. It seemed at first the battle would just end the same way, but Mario had been prepared. He waited a couple seconds until the timing was just right. Then he shouted, "Bombette! Now!"

_BOOM!!_

The noise filled the air, followed by a flash of light. Just as the light hit him, Mario spotted Black, spinning in his shell and launching himself at Mario again. Mario took out his hammer and swung with all his might, hitting Black directly in the center. The hammer splintered from the impact, sending Black speeding into the opposite wall.

Oddly enough, the light never faded. Mario looked back at where Bombette was and saw that the gates had been blasted from their hinges, flooding the room in sunlight. "Way to go, Bombette!" There was no reply. "…Bombette?" Bombette skipped out into the light, dazed from the explosion. "Professor? Where's the book? I thought I left it in the cafeteria…" She snapped out of her thoughts. "Whew! Sorry, Mario. Haven't done that in a while…"

The three brothers were now completely visible. Black stumbled over to the other two; his little ninja tactics were useless now. "Drat!" Red shouted. "Bombette, you've caused far too much for me! It's time I finished you off once and for all!"

"Bring it on!" she shouted menacingly.

"Ready for our special attack, guys?"

Yellow looked at him doubtfully. "But Red, can we do it without Green?"

"Don't have a choice, do we?" The other two nodded. Black got down on all fours, while Yellow and Red hopped up on top of him, creating a three-Koopa stack.

"Prepare for our ultimate attack!" Red shouted as they withdrew into their shells. They spun around on the ground, keeping perfect balance on top of one another, and then catapulted themselves at Mario. The force of the blow sent him flying to the other side of the room. The attack hurt as much as three of Black's attacks combined, which made sense now that he thought about it. The Koopa Bros. withdrew into their shells for another attack. Mario attempted to fight back with his hammer, until he realized that his hammer had been reduced to splinters from its last use. The Koopa Bros. shot at him again, nearly crippling him from the pain.

"Yeah, that's it!" Red shouted. "Mario doesn't stand a chance, now!" They withdrew into their shells for one final attack.

"Hold it!" Bombette shouted, her fuse lit. "You forgot something!" The shout made the Koopa Bros. hesitate a moment too long. Before they could get started again, Bombette threw herself into the stack and exploded again. The impact made Black lose his balance, and the three brothers fell backwards onto their shells. They swayed back and forth frantically, trying in vain to get back on their feet.

"Nice move!" said Mario, looking around for Bombette again. "Bombette?"

"_My Bonnie lies over the ocean! My Bonnie lies over the sea! My Bonnie lies over the ocean…_" Ignoring her for the moment, Mario took a look around and noticed the pit by the side of the fortress, and an idea came to his head. Reeling back with his foot, he kicked Black hard, sending him skidding into the pit and down into the dungeon with Green. Bombette, once she had gained her composure, body slammed into Yellow, sending him the same direction.

"Welcome back," said Mario. Bombette blushed, though it was a bit hard to tell. "Are you going to do that every time you blow up?"

"I think I'm getting used to it! I should be okay now."

Suddenly, Red hopped to his feet and threw himself into Bombette. "You've caused me trouble for the last time!" he shouted, trying to wrestle Bombette into the ground. Mario quickly joined the scuffle, and the three of them ended up rolling onto the bridge together.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Kooper! Wake up!" Goombario shouted. Kooper was still next to the wall with a blank expression on his face. The Bob-ombs were bursting through the door by the dozens. The other Bob-ombs had stood their ground, but a few of them were overwhelmed and defeated, leaving only a handful to fight. Desperate, Goombario headbonked Kooper in the stomach, trying to wake him up.

Kooper snapped out of his coma and jumped up to defend himself. "What was that for!?" he shouted.

"We need help! We're outnumbered!"

Kooper glanced up and saw the armada of Bob-ombs. Thinking about it, he said, "Okay, I've got an idea!" Goombario was taken aback; he was usually the one who came up with ideas, but he was completely stumped.

Kooper, however, stood up and exclaimed, "Hey! Powderheads!" The Bob-ombs stopped and turned back to him. "Uh, yeah! I'm talking to you! You're just a… bunch of green shells! Yeah, that's right!" The Bob-ombs stared at him in confusion. Goombario shook his head hopelessly. "…Uh, hey! How many Bob-ombs does it take to change a light bulb? …They can't! They don't have hands!" The rebel Bob-ombs booed, but the evil Bob-ombs were smart enough to know they were being insulted. Ignoring the others, they marched in line towards Kooper and Goombario.

"Oh, nice one," Goombario remarked sarcastically.

"Just wait," said Kooper. As the Bob-ombs marched toward him, he withdrew into his shell again and launched himself at the mob. The Bob-ombs in front exploded instantly from the impact, but near the end, as the momentum wore off, the Bob-ombs were simply knocked aside. Kooper slowed to a stop next to one of the pillars. The surviving Bob-ombs were angered now and ran after Kooper with lit fuses. "Uh-oh," Kooper muttered. He withdrew into his shell again for protection. The Bob-ombs crowded around him and exploded with all their might. The support pillar gave way, and Kooper went flying in all directions.

He eventually landed with a thud next to Goombario. Getting out of his shell, he stumbled around dizzily for a few seconds. "Well, that was an interesting experience," he said, trying to keep his stance. "Now I know how the Bob-ombs feel…"

"Not good! Not good! Not good!" Goombario shouted repeatedly. The last of the support pillar cracked and fell to pieces, leaving that part of the ceiling unsupported.

"What?" said Kooper. "That's what we wanted, right?"

"Yeah, but Mario and Bombette are still up there! They'll fall down with the fortress!"

"Well, it's only one pillar. That shouldn't do much harm, right?"

_CRACK!!!!_

"…Uh-oh," they both muttered.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Mario, Bombette and Red fought tirelessly on top of the bridge. Even though he was now outnumbered, Red was still able to hold his own against Mario and Bombette. Neither team seemed to give way. "You'll pay for this!" Red shouted, grabbing Bombette and nearly launching her off the bridge. Mario just managed to grab her and tackle Red to the ground, but Red withdrew into his shell and slid away, preparing for another attack. Mario and Bombette also stood their ground. The three of them braced themselves and lunged at each other once more.

_CRACK!!!_

The loud noise echoed all the way to the top of the fortress. It seemed so loud that the residents of Koopa Village could probably hear it. "What was that!?" Red shouted. The cracking noise dispersed through the sky, and everything became eerily quiet.

Suddenly, the tower behind them began to sink. It was slow at first, but it gained speed as it began to tumble sideways away from the bridge. "NO!!!!!" Red exclaimed dejectedly. "MY FORTRESS! MY BROTHERS!!!!!" Soon, the strain became too much for the bridge, which began to break off and follow the tower down into the depths.

"Mario! We have to get out of here!" said Bombette. The two nodded and ran for the other end of the fortress before the bridge could take them down. But Red jumped up from behind and tackled Mario.

"NO! You're not getting away with this! You're going down with the rest of us!" Mario struggled to break free. Bombette turned around and body slammed Red in the face, knocking him off. Mario got to his feet and the two began to run again, but it was too late. The middle of the bridge cracked open, leaving a crevice too wide to cross. The fortress was splitting in half, and the three fighters were on the wrong end!

"We have to jump!" Mario exclaimed.

"Are you CRAZY!?" shouted Bombette.

"The river!" said Mario pointing below them.

"What if it's not deep enough!?"

"We don't have a choice!" Bombette gulped and readied herself for the inevitable. "NOW!" Bombette leapt from the tower as far as she could towards the river. Mario followed closely behind, watching the Bob-omb sink lower and lower until she was just a pink dot.

"Well, here we go…" he said uncertainly. He readied himself and leapt from the bridge.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOHHHH!"

He felt that familiar sense of weightlessness as he plummeted toward the earth. _How many more times am I going to fall off of things?_ he wondered. As he neared the river, he glanced above him to see Red diving towards a different part of the river, but Mario couldn't see where he landed before being submersed in water and darkness…

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

"Did you see where they landed?"

"I saw the splashes…" Goombario, Kooper and the six Bob-ombs stood a safe distance from the crumbling remains of the fortress, covered in mud and soaked to the bone. They had all safely escaped through the tunnel before the tower had collapsed. Kooper had almost not made it, carrying the unconscious Bob-ombs out to safety before considering his own. In most cases, it's something he would be proud of, but he was more concerned now about the welfare of Mario and their new friend Bombette. The few seconds that passed after the two splashes seemed to drag on for hours as the eight of them waited, all breathless, for something to break the surface of the water.

When it seemed all was lost, a white, gloved hand suddenly broke the surface, welcomed by the cheers of the relieved crowd. Mario gasped for breath as he reached the surface, carrying Bombette up with him. The two heroes were helped to shore, coughing uncontrollably.

"You guys okay?" Goombario asked. Mario nodded, still unable to speak. After letting them rest for a few minutes, the group excitedly asked what happened. Bombette enthusiastically described the scene, from blasting the door open to the destruction of the tower and their amazing leap to safety.

"Yeah, the tower thing was my bad," Kooper confessed, slightly embarrassed.

"But whatever happened to Red?" Goombario wondered. As they all pondered this, Bombette spotted something floating down the river. It floated gently to the edge of water where the group stood. Many gaped in shock as Bombette gazed with pride at the tattered, red headband. "You don't think he's…" Goombario trailed off before he could finish.

"Well, good riddance, that's all I can say!" Bombette shouted with glee. "Now we can rebuild! Our lives won't be bothered by those meddlesome Koopa Bros. ever again!" The Bob-ombs shouted with joy, celebrating their victory.

"Mario! Look!" Goombario shouted. Mario looked out into the river and found a card floating farther down the river.

_The Star Spirit!_

Mario waded into the water with Goombario following as far as he could. He looked down at the card and saw a picture of an old star with a large white mustache on it. He quickly grabbed the card and waded back to shore with everyone else. Suddenly, the card flashed a blinding white light, startling Mario and causing him to jump back. The card became white-hot, forcing Mario to release it before he burned his hand. The card hovered in the air unaided as everybody looked on in wonder. It began to turn, slowly at first but gaining speed until it spun wildly through the air. Then, the card exploded in a shower of sparks. The sparks stopped in midair and then began to reform into the shape of a large star. They burned brightly for a few seconds before cooling and taking shape. Soon the ashes began to crumble and fall, revealing the face (and mustache) of Eldstar. The first Star Spirit had been rescued!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**As the Bob-ombs celebrate their incredible victory over the Koopas, Mario looks on at the rescued Star Spirit, confidence welling up inside of him now. What new journeys await him and his partners on this perilous quest? The adventure has only begun…**

**Holy cow! This was a long chapter. One of my better ones, in my opinion. Hopefully, I'll be able to post the next chapter soon! I can't make any promises, but I'll try my best to get it posted by next Friday. Until then, readers!**


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